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| 2. |
- Antonelli, Alexandre, 1978, et al.
(author)
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Conceptual and empirical advances in Neotropical biodiversity research
- 2018
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In: PeerJ. - : PeerJ. - 2167-8359. ; 2018:10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The unparalleled biodiversity found in the American tropics (the Neotropics) has attracted the attention of naturalists for centuries. Despite major advances in recent years in our understanding of the origin and diversification of many Neotropical taxa and biotic regions, many questions remain to be answered. Additional biological and geological data are still needed, as well as methodological advances that are capable of bridging these research fields. In this review, aimed primarily at advanced students and early-career scientists, we introduce the concept of "trans-disciplinary biogeography," which refers to the integration of data from multiple areas of research in biology (e.g., community ecology, phylogeography, systematics, historical biogeography) and Earth and the physical sciences (e.g., geology, climatology, palaeontology), as a means to reconstruct the giant puzzle of Neotropical biodiversity and evolution in space and time. We caution against extrapolating results derived from the study of one or a few taxa to convey general scenarios of Neotropical evolution and landscape formation. We urge more coordination and integration of data and ideas among disciplines, transcending their traditional boundaries, as a basis for advancing tomorrow's ground-breaking research. Our review highlights the great opportunities for studying the Neotropical biota to understand the evolution of life.
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| 3. |
- Bacon, Christine D., et al.
(author)
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Soil fertility and flood regime are correlated with phylogenetic structure of Amazonian palm communities
- 2019
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In: Annals of Botany. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0305-7364 .- 1095-8290. ; 123:4, s. 641-655
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background and Aims Identifying the processes that generate and maintain biodiversity requires understanding of how evolutionary processes interact with abiotic conditions to structure communities. Edaphic gradients are strongly associated with floristic patterns but, compared with climatic gradients, have received relatively little attention. We asked (1) How does the phylogenetic composition of palm communities vary along edaphic gradients within major habitat types? and (2) To what extent are phylogenetic patterns determined by (a) habitat specialists, (b) small versus large palms, and (c) hyperdiverse genera? Methods We paired data on palm community composition from 501 transects of 0.25 ha located in two main habitat types (non-inundated uplands and seasonally inundated floodplains) in western Amazonian rain forests with information on soil chemistry, climate, phylogeny and metrics of plant size. We focused on exchangeable base concentration (cmol(+) kg(-1)) as a metric of soil fertility and a floristic index of inundation intensity. We used a null model approach to quantify the standard effect size of mean phylogenetic distance for each transect (a metric of phylogenetic community composition) and related this value to edaphic variables using generalized linear mixed models, including a term for spatial autocorrelation. Key Results Overall, we recorded 112 008 individuals belonging to 110 species. Palm communities in non-inundated upland transects (but not floodplain transects) were more phylogenetically clustered in areas of low soil fertility, measured as exchangeable base concentration. In contrast, floodplain transects with more severe flood regimes (as inferred from floristic structure) tended to be phylogenetically clustered. Nearly half of the species recorded (44 %) were upland specialists while 18 % were floodplain specialists. In both habitat types, phylogenetic clustering was largely due to the co-occurrence of small-sized habitat specialists belonging to two hyperdiverse genera (Bactris and Geonoma). Conclusions Edaphic conditions are associated with the phylogenetic community structure of palms across western Amazonia, and different factors (specifically, soil fertility and inundation intensity) appear to underlie diversity patterns in non-inundated upland versus floodplain habitats. By linking edaphic gradients with palm community phylogenetic structure, our study reinforces the need to integrate edaphic conditions in eco-evolutionary studies in order to better understand the processes that generate and maintain tropical forest diversity. Our results suggest a role for edaphic niche conservatism in the evolution and distribution of Amazonian palms, a finding with potential relevance for other clades.
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- Camara-Leret, R., et al.
(author)
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Fundamental species traits explain provisioning services of tropical American palms
- 2017
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In: Nature Plants. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2055-026X .- 2055-0278. ; 3:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The well-being of the global human population rests on provisioning services delivered by 12% of the Earth's similar to 400,000 plant species(1). Plant utilization by humans is influenced by species traits(2-4), but it is not well understood which traits underpin different human needs(5). Here, we focus on palms (Arecaceae), one of the most economically important plant groups globally(6), and demonstrate that provisioning services related to basic needs, such as food and medicine, show a strong link to fundamental functional and geographic traits. We integrate data from 2,201 interviews on plant utilization from three biomes in South America-spanning 68 communities, 43 ethnic groups and 2,221 plant uses-with a dataset of 4 traits (leaf length, stem volume, fruit volume, geographic range size) and a species-level phylogeny(7). For all 208 palm species occurring in our study area, we test for relations between their traits and perceived value. We find that people preferentially use large, widespread species rather than small, narrow-ranged species, and that different traits are linked to different uses. Further, plant size and geographic range size are stronger predictors of ecosystem service realization for palm services related to basic human needs than less-basic needs (for example, ritual). These findings suggest that reliance on plant size and availability may have prevented our optimal realization of wild-plant services, since ecologically rare yet functionally important (for example, chemically) clades may have been overlooked. Beyond expanding our understanding of how local people use biodiversity in mega-diverse regions, our traitand phylogeny-based approach helps to understand the processes that underpin ecosystem service realization, a necessary step to meet societal needs in a changing world with a growing human population(5,8).
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| 6. |
- Chalmandrier, L., et al.
(author)
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Comparing spatial diversification and meta-population models in the indo-Australian Archipelago
- 2018
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In: Royal Society Open Science. - : The Royal Society. - 2054-5703. ; 5:3
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Reconstructing the processes that have shaped the emergence of biodiversity gradients is critical to understand the dynamics of diversification of life on Earth. Islands have traditionally been used as model systems to unravel the processes shaping biological diversity. MacArthur and Wilson’s island biogeographicmodel predicts diversity to be based on dynamic interactions between colonization and extinction rates, while treating islands themselves as geologically static entities. The current spatial configuration of islands should influence meta-population dynamics, but long-term geological changes within archipelagos are also expected to have shaped island biodiversity, in part by driving diversification. Here, we compare two mechanistic models providing inferences on species richness at a biogeographic scale: a mechanistic spatial-temporal model of species diversification and a spatial meta-population model. While the meta-population model operates over a static landscape, the diversification model is driven by changes in the size and spatial configuration of islands through time.We compare the inferences of both models to floristic diversity patterns among land patches of the Indo-Australian Archipelago. Simulation results from the diversification model better matched observed diversity than a meta-population model constrained only by the contemporary landscape. The diversification model suggests that the dynamic repositioning of islands promoting land disconnection and reconnection induced an accumulation of particularly high species diversity on Borneo, which is central within the island network. By contrast, the meta-population model predicts a higher diversity on the mainlands, which is less compatible with empirical data. Our analyses highlight that, by comparing models with contrasting assumptions, we can pinpoint the processes that are most compatible with extant biodiversity patterns. © 2018 The Authors.
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| 7. |
- Faurby, Sören, 1981, et al.
(author)
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Anthropogenic impacts weaken Bergmann's rule
- 2017
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In: Ecography. - : Wiley. - 0906-7590. ; 40:6, s. 683-684
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Humans have modified species distributions in most of the world's natural ecosystems. Analyses of species distributions tend to ignore these modifications, potentially masking the signatures of natural processes on them. We examine the strength of a classic pattern in ecology-the body mass-latitudinal relationship, aka Bergmann's rule-for all mammal species worldwide using both contemporary and estimated natural distributions. We show that human modifications of mammal species distributions lead to substantially underestimating the strength of the Bergmann's rule. We speculate that other broad-scale ecological patterns might be similarly affected.
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| 8. |
- Faurby, Sören, 1981, et al.
(author)
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Anthropogenic range contractions bias species climate change forecasts
- 2018
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In: Nature Climate Change. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1758-678X .- 1758-6798. ; 8:3
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Forecasts of species range shifts under climate change most often rely on ecological niche models, in which characterizations of climate suitability are highly contingent on the species range data used. If ranges are far from equilibrium under current environmental conditions, for instance owing to local extinctions in otherwise suitable areas, modelled environmental suitability can be truncated, leading to biased estimates of the effects of climate change. Here we examine the impact of such biases on estimated risks from climate change by comparing models of the distribution of North American mammals based on current ranges with ranges accounting for historical information on species ranges. We find that estimated future diversity, almost everywhere, except in coastal Alaska, is drastically underestimated unless the full historical distribution of the species is included in the models. Consequently forecasts of climate change impacts on biodiversity for many clades are unlikely to be reliable without acknowledging anthropogenic influences on contemporary ranges.
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| 9. |
- Faurby, Sören, 1981, et al.
(author)
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Evolutionary and ecological success is decoupled in mammals
- 2018
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In: Journal of Biogeography. - : Wiley. - 0305-0270 .- 1365-2699. ; 45:10, s. 2227-2237
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Range size for mammalian clades is mainly predicted by colonization ability, suggesting that most clades are limited by dispersal rather than their ability to adapt to new environments. The most ecologically successful (i.e., most widespread) mammalian clades tend to possess traits that reduce geographical isolation among populations, but the same traits tend to decrease diversification rates. Our results unveil a decoupling between evolutionary and ecological success in mammals.
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| 10. |
- Faurby, Sören, 1981, et al.
(author)
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PHYLACINE 1.2: The Phylogenetic Atlas of Mammal Macroecology
- 2018
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In: Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0012-9658 .- 1939-9170. ; 99:11, s. 2626-2626
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Data needed for macroecological analyses are difficult to compile and often hidden away in supplementary material under non-standardized formats. Phylogenies, range data, and trait data often use conflicting taxonomies and require ad hoc decisions to synonymize species or fill in large amounts of missing data. Furthermore, most available data sets ignore the large impact that humans have had on species ranges and diversity. Ignoring these impacts can lead to drastic differences in diversity patterns and estimates of the strength of biological rules. To help overcome these issues, we assembled PHYLACINE, The Phylogenetic Atlas of Mammal Macroecology. This taxonomically integrated platform contains phylogenies, range maps, trait data, and threat status for all 5,831 known mammal species that lived since the last interglacial (similar to 130,000 years ago until present). PHYLACINE is ready to use directly, as all taxonomy and metadata are consistent across the different types of data, and files are provided in easy-to-use formats. The atlas includes both maps of current species ranges and present natural ranges, which represent estimates of where species would live without anthropogenic pressures. Trait data include body mass and coarse measures of life habit and diet. Data gaps have been minimized through extensive literature searches and clearly labelled imputation of missing values. The PHYLACINE database will be archived here as well as hosted online so that users may easily contribute updates and corrections to continually improve the data. This database will be useful to any researcher who wishes to investigate large-scale ecological patterns. Previous versions of the database have already provided valuable information and have, for instance, shown that megafauna extinctions caused substantial changes in vegetation structure and nutrient transfer patterns across the globe.
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