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Meier R, Hartop E, Pylatiuk C, Srivathsan A. Towards holistic insect monitoring: species discovery, description, identification and traits for all insects. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20230120. [PMID: 38705187 PMCID: PMC11070263 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 05/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Holistic insect monitoring needs scalable techniques to overcome taxon biases, determine species abundances, and gather functional traits for all species. This requires that we address taxonomic impediments and the paucity of data on abundance, biomass and functional traits. We here outline how these data deficiencies could be addressed at scale. The workflow starts with large-scale barcoding (megabarcoding) of all specimens from mass samples obtained at biomonitoring sites. The barcodes are then used to group the specimens into molecular operational taxonomic units that are subsequently tested/validated as species with a second data source (e.g. morphology). New species are described using barcodes, images and short diagnoses, and abundance data are collected for both new and described species. The specimen images used for species discovery then become the raw material for training artificial intelligence identification algorithms and collecting trait data such as body size, biomass and feeding modes. Additional trait data can be obtained from vouchers by using genomic tools developed by molecular ecologists. Applying this pipeline to a few samples per site will lead to greatly improved insect monitoring regardless of whether the species composition of a sample is determined with images, metabarcoding or megabarcoding. This article is part of the theme issue 'Towards a toolkit for global insect biodiversity monitoring'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rudolf Meier
- Center for Integrative Biodiversity Discovery, Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Humboldt University, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Emily Hartop
- Center for Integrative Biodiversity Discovery, Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Department of Natural History, NTNU University Museum, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, NO-7491, Norway
| | - Christian Pylatiuk
- Institute for Automation and Applied Informatics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Amrita Srivathsan
- Center for Integrative Biodiversity Discovery, Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany
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2
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Eisenhauer N, Ochoa-Hueso R, Huang Y, Barry KE, Gebler A, Guerra CA, Hines J, Jochum M, Andraczek K, Bucher SF, Buscot F, Ciobanu M, Chen H, Junker R, Lange M, Lehmann A, Rillig M, Römermann C, Ulrich J, Weigelt A, Schmidt A, Türke M. Ecosystem consequences of invertebrate decline. Curr Biol 2023; 33:4538-4547.e5. [PMID: 37757832 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.09.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2023] [Revised: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
Human activities cause substantial changes in biodiversity.1,2 Despite ongoing concern about the implications of invertebrate decline,3,4,5,6,7 few empirical studies have examined the ecosystem consequences of invertebrate biomass loss. Here, we test the responses of six ecosystem services informed by 30 above- and belowground ecosystem variables to three levels of aboveground (i.e., vegetation associated) invertebrate community biomass (100%, 36%, and 0% of ambient biomass) in experimental grassland mesocosms in a controlled Ecotron facility. In line with recent reports on invertebrate biomass loss over the last decade, our 36% biomass treatment also represented a decrease in invertebrate abundance (-70%) and richness (-44%). Moreover, we simulated the pronounced change in invertebrate biomass and turnover in community composition across the season. We found that the loss of invertebrate biomass decreases ecosystem multifunctionality, including two critical ecosystem services, aboveground pest control and belowground decomposition, while harvested plant biomass increases, likely because less energy was channeled up the food chain. Moreover, communities and ecosystem functions become decoupled with a lower biomass of invertebrates. Our study shows that invertebrate loss threatens the integrity of grasslands by decoupling ecosystem processes and decreasing ecosystem-service supply.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nico Eisenhauer
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Puschstrasse 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Raúl Ochoa-Hueso
- Department of Biology, IVAGRO, University of Cádiz, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario (CeiA3), Campus Del Rio San Pedro, 11510 Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain; Department of Terrestrial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), P.O. Box 50, 6700 AB Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Yuanyuan Huang
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Puschstrasse 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Kathryn E Barry
- Ecology and Biodiversity; Department of Environmental Biology, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University Padualaan, 8 3584 CH Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Alban Gebler
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Puschstrasse 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Carlos A Guerra
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Puschstrasse 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jes Hines
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Puschstrasse 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Malte Jochum
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Puschstrasse 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Karl Andraczek
- Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 21, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Solveig Franziska Bucher
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Plant Biodiversity Group, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - François Buscot
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Theodor-Lieser-Str. 4, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Marcel Ciobanu
- Institute of Biological Research, Branch of the National Institute of Research and Development for Biological Sciences, 48 Republicii Street, 400015 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Hongmei Chen
- Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 21, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK
| | - Robert Junker
- Evolutionary Ecology of Plants, Department of Biology, Philipps-University Marburg, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | - Markus Lange
- Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knöll-Str. 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Anika Lehmann
- Institut für Biologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Altensteinstr. 6, 14195 Berlin, Germany; Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research, Altensteinstr. 6, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Matthias Rillig
- Institut für Biologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Altensteinstr. 6, 14195 Berlin, Germany; Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research, Altensteinstr. 6, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Christine Römermann
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Plant Biodiversity Group, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Josephine Ulrich
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Plant Biodiversity Group, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Alexandra Weigelt
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 21, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Anja Schmidt
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Puschstrasse 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Theodor-Lieser-Str. 4, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Manfred Türke
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Puschstrasse 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Institute of Biological and Medical Imaging, Helmholtz Munich, Ingolstädter Landstraße 1, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany
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Boyd RJ, August TA, Cooke R, Logie M, Mancini F, Powney GD, Roy DB, Turvey K, Isaac NJB. An operational workflow for producing periodic estimates of species occupancy at national scales. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2023; 98:1492-1508. [PMID: 37062709 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Revised: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 04/18/2023]
Abstract
Policy makers require high-level summaries of biodiversity change. However, deriving such summaries from raw biodiversity data is a complex process involving several intermediary stages. In this paper, we describe an operational workflow for generating annual estimates of species occupancy at national scales from raw species occurrence data, which can be used to construct a range of policy-relevant biodiversity indicators. We describe the workflow in detail: from data acquisition, data assessment and data manipulation, through modelling, model evaluation, application and dissemination. At each stage, we draw on our experience developing and applying the workflow for almost a decade to outline the challenges that analysts might face. These challenges span many areas of ecology, taxonomy, data science, computing and statistics. In our case, the principal output of the workflow is annual estimates of occupancy, with measures of uncertainty, for over 5000 species in each of several defined 'regions' (e.g. countries, protected areas, etc.) of the UK from 1970 to 2019. This data product corresponds closely to the notion of a species distribution Essential Biodiversity Variable (EBV). Throughout the paper, we highlight methodologies that might not be applicable outside of the UK and suggest alternatives. We also highlight areas where the workflow can be improved; in particular, methods are needed to mitigate and communicate the risk of bias arising from the lack of representativeness that is typical of biodiversity data. Finally, we revisit the 'ideal' and 'minimal' criteria for species distribution EBVs laid out in previous contributions and pose some outstanding questions that should be addressed as a matter of priority. Going forward, we hope that this paper acts as a template for research groups around the world seeking to develop similar data products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin J Boyd
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, MacLean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, OX10 8BB, UK
| | - Thomas A August
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, MacLean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, OX10 8BB, UK
| | - Robert Cooke
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, MacLean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, OX10 8BB, UK
| | - Mark Logie
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, MacLean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, OX10 8BB, UK
| | - Francesca Mancini
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, MacLean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, OX10 8BB, UK
| | - Gary D Powney
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, MacLean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, OX10 8BB, UK
| | - David B Roy
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, MacLean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, OX10 8BB, UK
| | - Katharine Turvey
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, MacLean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, OX10 8BB, UK
| | - Nick J B Isaac
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, MacLean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, OX10 8BB, UK
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Dorić V, Ivković M, Baranov V, Pozojević I, Mihaljević Z. Extreme freshwater discharge events exacerbated by climate change influence the structure and functional response of the chironomid community in a biodiversity hotspot. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 879:163110. [PMID: 36972886 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Revised: 03/05/2023] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Global climate change is expected to exacerbate extreme discharge events in freshwater ecosystems as a consequence of changes in precipitation volume and snow cover duration. Chironomid midges were used as a model organism in this study because of their small size and short life cycles, which enable fast colonization of new habitats and great resilience. This resilience is often expressed in easy recolonization after an extreme event. Chironomid samples together with physico-chemical water measurements were collected for 14 years, between 2007 and 2020, in a karst tufa barrier that is part of the Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia. More than 13,000 individuals belonging to >90 taxa were collected. Mean annual water temperature increased by 0.1 °C during this period. Multiple change-point analysis revealed three main periods by discharge patterns: the first one from January 2007 to June 2010, the second from July 2010 to March 2013, characterised by extreme low discharge, and the third from April 2013 to December 2020, characterised by an increase in extreme peak discharge values. Based on multilevel pattern analysis, indicator species of the first and the third discharge period were detected. The ecological preferences of these species indicate an environmental change related to the changes in discharge. Along with species composition, functional composition has changed with the abundance of passive filtrators, shredders and predators increasing over time. Species richness and abundance did not change over the period of observation, thus emphasizing the importance of species-level identification in detecting the earliest community response to change that would otherwise be overlooked.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Dorić
- Division of Zoology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Rooseveltov trg 6, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Marija Ivković
- Division of Zoology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Rooseveltov trg 6, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia.
| | - Viktor Baranov
- Doñana Biological Station EBD-CSIC, C/ Americo Vespucio, 26, 41092, Isla de la Cartuja, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Ivana Pozojević
- Division of Zoology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Rooseveltov trg 6, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Zlatko Mihaljević
- Division of Zoology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Rooseveltov trg 6, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
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5
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Mancini F, Cooke R, Woodcock BA, Greenop A, Johnson AC, Isaac NJB. Invertebrate biodiversity continues to decline in cropland. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20230897. [PMID: 37282535 PMCID: PMC10244961 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Modern agriculture has drastically changed global landscapes and introduced pressures on wildlife populations. Policy and management of agricultural systems has changed over the last 30 years, a period characterized not only by intensive agricultural practices but also by an increasing push towards sustainability. It is crucial that we understand the long-term consequences of agriculture on beneficial invertebrates and assess if policy and management approaches recently introduced are supporting their recovery. In this study, we use large citizen science datasets to derive trends in invertebrate occupancy in Great Britain between 1990 and 2019. We compare these trends between regions of no- (0%), low- (greater than 0-50%) and high-cropland (greater than 50%) cover, which includes arable and horticultural crops. Although we detect general declines, invertebrate groups are declining most strongly in high-cropland cover regions. This suggests that even in the light of improved policy and management over the last 30 years, the way we are managing cropland is failing to conserve and restore invertebrate communities. New policy-based drivers and incentives are required to support the resilience and sustainability of agricultural ecosystems. Post-Brexit changes in UK agricultural policy and reforms under the Environment Act offer opportunities to improve agricultural landscapes for the benefit of biodiversity and society.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Rob Cooke
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, OX10 8BB, UK
| | - Ben A. Woodcock
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, OX10 8BB, UK
| | - Arran Greenop
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, OX10 8BB, UK
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6
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Zhou Y, Zhang H, Liu D, Khashaveh A, Li Q, Wyckhuys KA, Wu K. Long-term insect censuses capture progressive loss of ecosystem functioning in East Asia. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eade9341. [PMID: 36735783 PMCID: PMC9897670 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ade9341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Insects provide critical ecosystem services such as biological pest control, in which natural enemies (NE) regulate the populations of crop-feeding herbivores (H). While H-NE dynamics are routinely studied at small spatiotemporal scales, multiyear assessments over entire agrolandscapes are rare. Here, we draw on 18-year radar and searchlight trapping datasets (2003-2020) from eastern Asia to (i) assess temporal population trends of 98 airborne insect species and (ii) characterize the associated H-NE interplay. Although NE consistently constrain interseasonal H population growth, their summer abundance declined by 19.3% over time and prominent agricultural pests abandoned their equilibrium state. Within food webs composed of 124 bitrophic couplets, NE abundance annually fell by 0.7% and network connectance dropped markedly. Our research unveils how a progressive decline in insect numbers debilitates H trophic regulation and ecosystem stability at a macroscale, carrying implications for food security and (agro)ecological resilience during times of global environmental change.
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Espel D, Coux C, Pertierra LR, Eymar-Dauphin P, Lembrechts JJ, Renault D. Functional Niche Partitioning Occurs over Body Size but Not Nutrient Reserves nor Melanism in a Polar Carabid Beetle along an Altitudinal Gradient. INSECTS 2023; 14:123. [PMID: 36835692 PMCID: PMC9967798 DOI: 10.3390/insects14020123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2022] [Revised: 01/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Phenotypic plasticity can favor the emergence of different morphotypes specialized in specific ranges of environmental conditions. The existence of intraspecific partitioning confers resilience at the species scale and can ultimately determine species survival in a context of global changes. Amblystogenium pacificum is a carabid beetle endemic to the sub-Antarctic Crozet Islands, and it has two distinctive morphotypes based on body coloration. For this study, A. pacificum specimens of functional niches were sampled along an altitudinal gradient (as a proxy for temperature), and some morphological and biochemical traits were measured. We used an FAMD multivariate analysis and linear mixed-effects models to test whether these traits were related to morphotype, altitude, and sexual dimorphism. We then calculated and compared the functional niches at different altitudes and tested for niche partitioning through a hypervolume approach. We found a positive hump-shaped correlation between altitude and body size as well as higher protein and sugar reserves in females than in males. Our functional hypervolume results suggest that the main driver of niche partitioning along the altitudinal gradient is body size rather than morphotype or sex, even though darker morphotypes tended to be more functionally constrained at higher altitudes and females showed limited trait variations at the highest altitude.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diane Espel
- CNRS, ECOBIO (Ecosystèmes, Biodiversité, Evolution), UMR 6553, University of Rennes, F-35000 Rennes, France
| | - Camille Coux
- CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur Lille, U1019-UMR 9017-CIIL-Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, University of Lille, F-59000 Lille, France
- CEFE, University of Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, F-34000 Montpellier, France
| | - Luis R. Pertierra
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa
| | - Pauline Eymar-Dauphin
- CNRS, LEHNA (Laboratoire d’Ecologie des Hydrosystèmes Naturels et Anthropisés), UMR 5023, University of Lyon 1, F-69100 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Jonas J. Lembrechts
- Research Group Plants and Ecosystems (PLECO), University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - David Renault
- CNRS, ECOBIO (Ecosystèmes, Biodiversité, Evolution), UMR 6553, University of Rennes, F-35000 Rennes, France
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Ohlert T, Kimmel K, Avolio M, Chang C, Forrestel E, Gerstner B, Hobbie SE, Komastu K, Reich P, Whitney K. Exploring the impact of trait number and type on functional diversity metrics in real-world ecosystems. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0272791. [PMID: 36006866 PMCID: PMC9409596 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0272791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The use of trait-based approaches to understand ecological communities has increased in the past two decades because of their promise to preserve more information about community structure than taxonomic methods and their potential to connect community responses to subsequent effects of ecosystem functioning. Though trait-based approaches are a powerful tool for describing ecological communities, many important properties of commonly-used trait metrics remain unexamined. Previous work in studies that simulate communities and trait distributions show consistent sensitivity of functional richness and evenness measures to the number of traits used to calculate them, but these relationships have yet to be studied in actual plant communities with a realistic distribution of trait values, ecologically meaningful covariation of traits, and a realistic number of traits available for analysis. Therefore, we propose to test how the number of traits used and the correlation between traits used in the calculation of functional diversity indices impacts the magnitude of eight functional diversity metrics in real plant communities. We will use trait data from three grassland plant communities in the US to assess the generality of our findings across ecosystems and experiments. We will determine how eight functional diversity metrics (functional richness, functional evenness, functional divergence, functional dispersion, kernel density estimation (KDE) richness, KDE evenness, KDE dispersion, Rao’s Q) differ based on the number of traits used in the metric calculation and on the correlation of traits when holding the number of traits constant. Without a firm understanding of how a scientist’s choices impact these metric, it will be difficult to compare results among studies with different metric parametrization and thus, limit robust conclusions about functional composition of communities across systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy Ohlert
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Kaitlin Kimmel
- Mad Agriculture, Boulder, Colorado
- Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States of America
| | - Meghan Avolio
- Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States of America
| | - Cynthia Chang
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Washington, Bothell, WA, United States of America
| | - Elisabeth Forrestel
- Department of Viticulture and Enology, University of California, Davis, CA, United States of America
| | - Benjamin Gerstner
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States of America
| | - Sarah E. Hobbie
- Ecology, Evolution and Behavior Department, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, United States of America
| | - Kimberly Komastu
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD, United States of America
| | - Peter Reich
- Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States of America
- Institute for Global Change Biology and School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith South, NSW, Australia
| | - Kenneth Whitney
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States of America
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9
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Harmonizing Forest Conservation Policies with Essential Biodiversity Variables Incorporating Remote Sensing and Environmental DNA Technologies. FORESTS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/f13030445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
It remains difficult to compare the state of conservation of forests of different nations. Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) are a set of variables designed as a framework for harmonizing biodiversity monitoring. Methods to monitor forest biodiversity are traditional monitoring (according to conservation policy requirements), remote sensing, environmental DNA, and the information products that are derived from them (RS/eDNA biodiversity products). However, it is not clear to what extent indicators from conservation policies align with EBVs and RS/eDNA biodiversity products. This research evaluated current gaps in harmonization between EBVs, RS/eDNA biodiversity products and forest conservation indicators. We compared two sets of biodiversity variables: (1) forest conservation indicators and (2) RS/eDNA biodiversity products, within the context of the Essential Biodiversity Variables framework. Indicators derived from policy documents can mostly be categorized within the EBV ‘ecosystem vertical profile’, while ‘ecosystem function’ remains underrepresented. RS/eDNA biodiversity products, however, can provide information about ‘ecosystem function’. Integrating RS/eDNA biodiversity products that monitor ecosystem functioning into monitoring programs will lead to a more comprehensive and balanced reporting on forest biodiversity. In addition, using the same variables and similar RS/eDNA products for forest biodiversity and conservation policies is a requirement for harmonization and international policy reporting.
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Abstract
Systematic, long-term monitoring provides crucial evidence regarding the vulnerability of biodiversity to environmental change. New research shows that trends in taxonomic diversity do not necessarily match trends in functional diversity. Interpreting the implications of different kinds of diversity change for ecosystem functioning remains a key priority.
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