Journal ArticleDOI
Worldwide decline of specialist species: toward a global functional homogenization?
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TLDR
It is concluded that the observed worldwide decline in specialist species is predicted by niche theory, and specialist declines cause “functional homogenization” of biodiversity, and suchhomogenization may be used to measure the impact of disturbance on communities.Abstract:
Specialization is a concept based on a broad theoretical framework developed by evolutionary biologists and ecologists. In the past 10 years, numerous studies have reported that – in many contexts – generalist species are “replacing” specialist species. We review recent research on the concept of the ecological niche and species specialization, and conclude that (1) the observed worldwide decline in specialist species is predicted by niche theory, (2) specialist declines cause “functional homogenization” of biodiversity, and (3) such homogenization may be used to measure the impact of disturbance on communities. Homogenization at the community level could alter ecosystem functioning and productivity, as well as result in the deterioration of ecosystem goods and services. We propose community‐level specialization as an indicator of the impact of global changes (habitat and climate disturbances) on biodiversity.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Defining and measuring ecological specialization
Vincent Devictor,Vincent Devictor,Joanne Clavel,Romain Julliard,Sébastien Lavergne,David Mouillot,Wilfried Thuiller,Patrick Venail,Sébastien Villéger,Nicolas Mouquet +9 more
TL;DR: This study clarifies ecological specialization by reviewing the strengths and limitations of different approaches commonly used to define and measure ecological specialization, and illustrates how this review can be used as a practical toolbox to classify widely used metrics of ecological specialization in applied ecology.
Journal ArticleDOI
Biodiversity change is uncoupled from species richness trends: Consequences for conservation and monitoring
Helmut Hillebrand,Bernd Blasius,Elizabeth T. Borer,Jonathan M. Chase,Jonathan M. Chase,John A. Downing,Britas Klemens Eriksson,Christopher T. Filstrup,W. Stanley Harpole,W. Stanley Harpole,Dorothee Hodapp,Stefano Larsen,Aleksandra M. Lewandowska,Eric W. Seabloom,Dedmer B. Van de Waal,Alexey B. Ryabov +15 more
TL;DR: It is shown how a set of species turnover indices provide more information content regarding temporal trends in biodiversity, as they reflect how dominance and identity shift in communities over time, and several limitations of species richness as a metric of biodiversity change are summarized.
Journal ArticleDOI
Landscape simplification filters species traits and drives biotic homogenization
Sagrario Gámez-Virués,David J. Perović,Martin M. Gossner,Carmen Börschig,Nico Blüthgen,Heike de Jong,Nadja K. Simons,Alexandra-Maria Klein,Jochen Krauss,Gwen Maier,Christoph Scherber,Juliane Steckel,Christoph Rothenwöhrer,Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter,Christiane N. Weiner,Wolfgang W. Weisser,Michael Werner,Teja Tscharntke,Catrin Westphal +18 more
TL;DR: It is shown that landscape-level effects dominate functional community composition and can even buffer the effects of in-field management intensification on functional homogenization, and that animal communities in real-world managed landscapes show a unified response (across orders and guilds) to both landscape-scale simplification and in- field intensification.
Journal ArticleDOI
The global spread of crop pests and pathogens
TL;DR: Despite ongoing dispersal of crop pests and pathogens, the degree of biotic homogenization of the globe remains moderate and regionally constrained, but is growing.
Journal ArticleDOI
Global forest loss disproportionately erodes biodiversity in intact landscapes
Matthew G. Betts,Christopher Wolf,William J. Ripple,Ben Phalan,Ben Phalan,Kimberley A. Millers,Adam Duarte,Stuart H. M. Butchart,Stuart H. M. Butchart,Taal Levi +9 more
TL;DR: Deforestation substantially increased the odds of a species being listed as threatened, undergoing recent upgrading to a higher threat category and exhibiting declining populations, and it was shown that these risks were disproportionately high in relatively intact landscapes.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning: a consensus of current knowledge
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TL;DR: Understanding this complexity, while taking strong steps to minimize current losses of species, is necessary for responsible management of Earth's ecosystems and the diverse biota they contain.
Journal ArticleDOI
Mechanisms of Maintenance of Species Diversity
TL;DR: Stabilizing mechanisms are essential for species coexistence and include traditional mechanisms such as resource partitioning and frequency-dependent predation, as well as mechanisms that depend on fluctuations in population densities and environmental factors in space and time.
Journal ArticleDOI
Fishing Down Marine Food Webs
TL;DR: The mean trophic level of the species groups reported in Food and Agricultural Organization global fisheries statistics declined from 1950 to 1994, and results indicate that present exploitation patterns are unsustainable.
Journal ArticleDOI
Rebuilding community ecology from functional traits.
TL;DR: It is asserted that community ecology should return to an emphasis on four themes that are tied together by a two-step process: how the fundamental niche is governed by functional traits within the context of abiotic environmental gradients; and how the interaction between traits and fundamental niches maps onto the realized niche in the context a biotic interaction milieu.
BookDOI
Evolution in Changing Environments: Some Theoretical Explorations. (MPB-2)
TL;DR: Professor Levins, one of the leading explorers in the field of integrated population biology, considers the mutual interpenetration and joint evolution of organism and environment, occurring on several levels at once.