Diversity erosion beyond the species level: Dramatic loss of functional diversity after selective logging in two tropical amphibian communities

Ernst, Raffael; Linsenmair, K. Eduard; Rödel, Mark‐Oliver

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2006.05.028

Cited by 214 publications

(193 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…In particular, our results underline the need to consider not only taxonomic and functional diversity, but also different aspects of each, including richness, evenness and composition. Several studies have suggested that the decreases in functional diversity observed following disturbance imply significant risks to the provisioning of ecosystem services, even when no corresponding decrease in taxonomic diversity was observed (Ernst, Linsenmair & Rodel 2006;Flynn et al 2009;Ville´ger et al 2010). Our results further imply that communities may be altered by disturbance in ways significant to ecosystem processes, even when some measures of functional diversity do not change.…”

Section: O N T R a S T I N G T A X O N O M I C A N D F U N C T I O supporting

confidence: 55%

Contrasting taxonomic and functional responses of a tropical tree community to selective logging

Baraloto

Hérault

Paine

et al. 2012

Journal of Applied Ecology

113

100

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Summary1. Considerable debate surrounds the extent to which tropical forests can be managed for resource extraction while conserving biodiversity and ecosystem properties, which depend on functional composition. Here we evaluate the compatibility of these aims by examining the effects of logging on taxonomic and functional diversity and composition in a tropical forest. 2. Twenty years after selective logging, we inventoried 4140 stems regenerating in logging gaps and adjacent undisturbed areas, and we integrated a database of 13 functional traits describing leaf and wood economics of tropical trees. 3. We found no differences in taxonomic and functional richness among habitats, but logging gaps had significantly higher taxonomic and functional evenness. 4. Logging also effected striking, long-term changes in both species and functional composition. In particular, the xylem density of recruits in logging gaps was 6% less than in unlogged forests, leaves were 11% less tough and had 6-13% greater mineral nutrient concentrations. 5. Synthesis and applications. Our results suggest that managers of tropical forests should limit overall surface area converted to logging gaps by creating fewer, larger gaps during selective logging, to reduce impacts on the taxonomic and functional composition of the regenerating stand.

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Section: O N T R a S T I N G T A X O N O M I C A N D F U N C T I O supporting

confidence: 55%

Contrasting taxonomic and functional responses of a tropical tree community to selective logging

Baraloto

Hérault

Paine

et al. 2012

Journal of Applied Ecology

113

100

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“…The overall species richness of TESF was lower compared to species richness recorded in western Ivorian forest areas, for instance the Taï National Park (Ernst et al 2006), Mont Sangbé National Park (Rödel 2003), or the Haute Dodo and Cavally Classified Forests (Rödel and Branch 2002), but similar to Mont Péko National Park (Rödel and Ernst 2003). Compared to these and other West African forest areas with known amphibian assemblages such as south-western Ghana , south-eastern Guinea or north-western Liberia (Hillers and Rödel 2007), the TESF ranks among the areas of median to low amphibian species richness.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

“…The composition of amphibian assemblages thus may reflect the degree of habitat degradation and destruction (for Ivorian examples compare e.g. Ernst and Rödel 2005, Ernst et al 2006, Hillers et al 2008. Hence, conservation recommendations could be based on the presence or absence of particular amphibian species and their continued monitoring.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The anuran fauna of a Volunteer Nature Reserve: the Tanoé-Ehy Swamp Forests, south-eastern Ivory Coast, West Africa

Kpan¹,

Adeba²,

Kouamé³

et al. 2014

ZSE

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“…Functional diversity is an important axis of biodiversity which dictates ecosystem functioning (Clark, Flynn, Butterfield & Reich, 2012; Díaz et al., 2007), community responses to environmental change (Ernst, Linsenmair & Rödel, 2006; Forrest, Thorp, Kremen & Williams, 2015; Meynard et al., 2011), and community stability and resilience (Mori, Furukawa & Sasaki, 2013). Using spatial (dis)similarity represents a recent approach to investigating functional homogenization and makes it more comparable with measures of taxonomic homogenization than previously used measures of mean community specialization.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does functional homogenization accompany taxonomic homogenization of British birds and how do biotic factors and climate affect these processes?

White

Montgomery

Storchová

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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Environmental change has reshuffled communities often causing taxonomic homogenization rather than differentiation. Some studies suggest that this increasing similarity of species composition between communities is accompanied by an increase in similarity of trait composition—functional homogenization—although different methodologies have failed to come to any consistent conclusions. Functional homogenization could have a large effect on ecosystem functioning and stability. Here, we use the general definition of homogenization as “reduced spatial turnover over time” to compare changes in Simpson's beta diversity (taxonomic turnover) with changes in Rao's quadratic entropy beta diversity (functional turnover) in British breeding birds at three spatial scales. Using biotic and climatic variables, we identify which factors may predispose a site to homogenization. The change in turnover measures between two time periods, 20 years apart, was calculated. A null model approach was taken to identify occurrences of functional homogenization and differentiation independent of changes in taxonomic turnover. We used conditional autoregressive models fitted using integrated nested Laplace approximations to determine how environmental drivers and factors relating to species distributions affect changes in spatial turnover of species and functional diversity. The measurement of functional homogenization affects the chance of rejection of the null models, with many sites showing taxonomic homogenization unaccompanied by functional homogenization, although occurrence varies with spatial scale. At the smallest scale, while temperature‐related variables drive changes in taxonomic turnover, changes in functional turnover are associated with variation in growing degree days; however, changes in functional turnover become more difficult to predict at larger spatial scales. Our results highlight the multifactorial processes underlying taxonomic and functional homogenization and that redundancy in species traits may allow ecosystem functioning to be maintained in some areas despite changes in species composition.

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Diversity erosion beyond the species level: Dramatic loss of functional diversity after selective logging in two tropical amphibian communities

Cited by 214 publications

References 48 publications

Contrasting taxonomic and functional responses of a tropical tree community to selective logging

Contrasting taxonomic and functional responses of a tropical tree community to selective logging

The anuran fauna of a Volunteer Nature Reserve: the Tanoé-Ehy Swamp Forests, south-eastern Ivory Coast, West Africa

Does functional homogenization accompany taxonomic homogenization of British birds and how do biotic factors and climate affect these processes?

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