Showing papers by "Kostas A. Triantis published in 2022"
TL;DR: In this article , a global summary of the status and ecology of extant and extinct island birds, threats they face and the implications of species loss for island functional diversity is provided, with a focus on island bird conservation or extinction.
Abstract: The world's islands support disproportionate levels of endemic avian biodiversity despite suffering numerous extinctions. While intensive recent research has focused on island bird conservation or extinction, few global syntheses have considered these factors together from the perspective of morphological trait diversity. Here, we provide a global summary of the status and ecology of extant and extinct island birds, the threats they face and the implications of species loss for island functional diversity.
8 citations
TL;DR: In this article , the authors compared the structure of oceanic archipelago assemblages with their respective regional species pools and found that communities of organisms converge towards predictable structural properties in similar environmental conditions.
Abstract: Aim: Whether entire communities of organisms converge towards predictable structural properties in similar environmental conditions remains controversial. We tested for community convergence in birds by comparing the structure of oceanic archipelago assemblages with their respective regional species pools. Methods: We compiled a comprehensive database of morphological trait and phylogenetic data for 6,579 bird species, including species known to have become extinct owing to human activities. We quantified morphological and phylogenetic dissimilarity among species between pairs of archipelagos, using a modified version of the mean nearest taxon distance. We tested for convergence by estimating whether overall mean turnover among archipelagos and pairwise turnover between archipelagos were lower than expected by chance. the of endemic Our results highlight the potential role of non- random extinction in generating patterns of community convergence and show that convergence existed even before extinctions, owing to deterministic community assembly in similar environmental settings at the global scale.
5 citations
TL;DR: In this article , Montfort, 1810 is recorded for the first time from Paros island and only an old shell was found, the reasons that the populations of this threatened, endemic land snail of the Aegean seem to be declining should be investigated.
Abstract: Zonites Montfort, 1810 is recorded for the first time from Paros island. As only an old shell was found, the reasons that the populations of this threatened, endemic land snail of the Aegean seem to be declining should be investigated.
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors report 42 land snail species with 10 species being new records for the island of Kea and draw attention to the fact that sampling for land snails should be done during the wet period in order to survey the complete malacofauna in an island or region.
Abstract: Abstract Background Kea is the westernmost island of the Cyclades and is located between Syros and Attica, in central Greece. In this work, we have resampled the island after 43 years – i.e. when the island was first fully sampled – and we present its complete land snail fauna. New information We report 42 land snail species with 10 species being new records for the island. Based on our results we draw attention to the fact that sampling for land snails should be done during the wet period in order to survey the complete malacofauna in an island or a region. For such a complete survey, collection and inspection of soil and litter are also necessary. Finally, increased sampling effort through regular resurveys is a necessary prerequisite in order to effectively assess the temporal dynamics of biodiversity patterns.