Tracking the global loss of functional diversity

Well-functioning ecosystems provide a plethora of benefits for humans, collectively termed ‘ecosystem services.’ However, in a rapidly changing world characterised by increasing anthropogenic pressures and a rate of biodiversity loss rivalling that of previous mass extinction events, of particular concern is to what extent this loss of diversity will disrupt ecosystem functions (e.g. nutrient cycling, pollination, bioturbation, biomass production etc.). There is growing evidence that the health of an ecosystem is primarily influenced by the degree of functional diversity present. As such, ecoregions and countries with the most rapid rates of biodiversity loss and the lowest amounts of functional redundancy will most likely experience the most profound changes in ecosystem functioning, with potentially severe consequences for humanity.

This project will track how functional diversity has been lost in the face of anthropogenic forcing at the global scale, with a particular focus on identifying regions which are seeing the most profound changes in functional diversity. Doing so has direct relevance for forecasting future changes in ecosystem services and will inform the implementation of strategies to mitigate these changes. This project will approach the issue of tracking rates of change in functional diversity using a global long-term database of vertebrate population trends, augmented by data on species ecological and life history traits.

The Living Planet database (LPD), a global database of over 25,000 population time series, will be used to provide data on population trends. These time series cover three systems (freshwater, marine, and terrestrial) and 11 classes (the most numerous being birds, ray-finned fish, and mammals). In addition, information on the location, the IUCN Red List category, whether the species is invasive or not, and the primary, secondary, and tertiary threat as identified by the original source publication are also available. Data on population trends will be supplemented with data on ecological and life history traits collected from databases such as PanTHERIA, AMNIOTES, FishBase, AmphiBIO and the Handbook of Avian Body Masses. These data will be used to develop multivariate functional index values for each species.

The compiled dataset will then be used to assess questions such as: How is functional diversity spatially distributed and which areas have the lowest amount of functional redundancy? Which areas are experiencing the most rapid rates of decline in functional diversity, and how does this relate to anthropogenic impacts? What threats or combination of threats are leading to the greatest loss of functional diversity? Is this different in marine, freshwater, or terrestrial systems? However, there is also ample opportunity for the student to take the research in the exact direction they are interested in.