Functional diversity of marine megafauna in the Anthropocene

Pimiento, Catalina; Leprieur, Fabien; Silvestro, Daniele; Lefcheck, Jonathan S.; Albouy, Camille; Rasher, Douglas B.; Davis, Matt; Svenning, Jens‐Christian; Griffin, John N.

doi:10.1126/sciadv.aay7650

Cited by 140 publications

(197 citation statements)

References 102 publications

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“…In a recent study, we explored future changes in functional richness of the world's marine megafauna under different extinction scenarios (Pimiento et al 2020). We also introduced the novel FUSE index (Functionally Unique, Specialized, and Endangered) that combines functional uniqueness, specialisation, and global endangerment to identify threatened species of particular importance for functional diversity.…”

Section: Figure 1 Species' Contributions To Functional Diversity Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These species are well suited for investigating species' functional contributions to nature, as, not only do they play a variety of important functional rolesfrom whales transporting nutrients to surface waters, to sea otters preventing in the collapse of coastal kelp forestsbut one-third of these species are also threatened with extinction due to human exploitation or other activities (Estes et al 2016;Pimiento et al 2020).…”

Section: Figure 1 Species' Contributions To Functional Diversity Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The 334 marine megafauna species were as provided by Estes et al (2016) and used in Pimiento et al (2020). Several of these species use the marine environment marginally (i.e., brackish waters).…”

Section: Species and Traitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These traits were selected to capture the various ecological roles of megafaunal species. Full details and justification of trait selection and treatment are provided in Pimiento et al (2020). In addition to traits, IUCN Red List status were gathered from the IUCN website in April 2019.…”

Section: Species and Traitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the same time, the IUCN status of the 24 'not evaluated' (NE) species and the 48 'data deficient' (DD) species were also inferred by resampling each missing status based on the distribution of the other IUCN status in each order. Multiple imputations for traits and IUCN status were run simultaneously for 1,000 iterations (see Pimiento et al 2020 for further details).…”

Section: Species and Traitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Functionally unique, specialised, and endangered (FUSE) species: towards integrated metrics for the conservation prioritisation toolbox

Griffin

Leprieur

Silvestro

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Identifying species with disproportionate contributions to biodiversity can lead to effective conservation prioritisation. Despite well-established methods for identifying endangered species adding inordinately to evolutionary diversity, in this context functional diversity has been overlooked. Here, we compare different metrics designed to identify threatened species that contribute strongly to functional diversity. We use the diverse and threatened global marine megafauna as a case study. We found that functional contributions of species are not fully captured in a single metric. Although we found a very strong correlation between functional specialisation and distinctiveness, functional uniqueness was only moderately correlated with the other two metrics and identified a different set of top-10 species. These functional contributions were then integrated and combined with extinction risk to identify species that are both important contributors to functional diversity and endangered. For instance, the top-10 Functionally Unique Specialized and Endangered (FUSE) species contains three critically endangered, five endangered and two vulnerable species whichdespite comprising only 3% of species -are among the top 10% most functionally unique and hold 15% of the global functional richness. The FUSE index was remarkably robust to different mathematical formulations. Combining one or more facets of a species contribution to functional diversity with endangerment, such as with the FUSE index, adds to the toolbox for conservation prioritisation. Nevertheless, we discuss how these new tools must be handled with care alongside other metrics and information.

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Section: Figure 1 Species' Contributions To Functional Diversity Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Figure 1 Species' Contributions To Functional Diversity Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Species and Traitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Species and Traitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Species and Traitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Functionally unique, specialised, and endangered (FUSE) species: towards integrated metrics for the conservation prioritisation toolbox

Griffin

Leprieur

Silvestro

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Sandbar shark aggregation in the central Mediterranean Sea and potential effects of tourism

Cattano

Turco

Lorenzo

et al. 2021

Aquatic Conservation

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An aggregation of sandbar sharks Carcharhinus plumbeus occurs every summer around the remote uninhabited islet of Lampione (Pelagie Islands Marine Protected Area, south‐western Mediterranean Sea), attracting an increasing number of tourists for a shark watching experience. Despite the ecological and socio‐economic importance of this rare occurrence in Mediterranean waters, there is a lack of scientific data and lack of information as to the potential impact of tourist activities on the presence and behaviour of this shark species. Using baited underwater videos, this study provides the first assessment of this shark aggregation, as well as a preliminary evaluation of the potential effects that boating and diving activities may have on sandbar sharks during two different periods within the tourism season (July and September 2019). Overall, 241 sandbar shark sightings (with up to five individuals together) were recorded in July, whereas there were only six sightings in September. The average MaxN was 1.18 hr−1 (±0.21 hr−1 SE) and 0.22 hr−1 (±0.10 hr−1 SE) individuals in July and September respectively. Higher frequentation levels of divers and boats significantly reduced the number of shark sightings at the aggregation site. This study emphasizes the need for further investigations on Mediterranean shark aggregations and the implementation of specific conservation measures, such as an increase of protection level in Lampione and better enforcement, aside from strategies that promote sustainable tourism, including restrictions on the number of boats and divers’ visits per day. In the meantime, a precautionary approach aimed at regulating the interactions between tourists and sharks should be implemented through the application of a self‐regulatory code of conduct for divers when sharks aggregate around the island.

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Habitat protection planning for Indo‐Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) in deteriorating environments: Knowledge gaps and recommendations for action

Huang

Peng

et al. 2021

Aquatic Conservation

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1. In Chinese and South-east Asian waters, the coastal and estuarine environments are important habitats for the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis).Coastal and estuarine maritime engineering (CEME), including land reclamation, embankment or shoreline armouring, harbour construction and marine farming, permanently changes coastal environments and threatens the long-term persistence of marine biota and ecosystems. Such impacts on humpback dolphin viability, however, are rarely discussed.

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Functional diversity of marine megafauna in the Anthropocene

Cited by 140 publications

References 102 publications

Functionally unique, specialised, and endangered (FUSE) species: towards integrated metrics for the conservation prioritisation toolbox

Functionally unique, specialised, and endangered (FUSE) species: towards integrated metrics for the conservation prioritisation toolbox

Sandbar shark aggregation in the central Mediterranean Sea and potential effects of tourism

Habitat protection planning for Indo‐Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) in deteriorating environments: Knowledge gaps and recommendations for action

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