Community-level regulation of temporal trends in biodiversity.
Nicholas J Gotelli, Hideyasu Shimadzu, Maria Dornelas, Brian McGill, Faye Moyes, Anne E Magurran
Author Information
Nicholas J Gotelli: Department of Biology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA.
Hideyasu Shimadzu: Department of Mathematical Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE11 3TU, UK. ORCID
Maria Dornelas: Centre for Biological Diversity and Scottish Oceans Institute, School of Biology, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Fife KY16 9TH, UK.
Brian McGill: School of Biology and Ecology, Sustainability Solutions Initiative, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA. ORCID
Faye Moyes: Centre for Biological Diversity and Scottish Oceans Institute, School of Biology, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Fife KY16 9TH, UK.
Anne E Magurran: Centre for Biological Diversity and Scottish Oceans Institute, School of Biology, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Fife KY16 9TH, UK.
Many theoretical models of community dynamics predict that species richness () and total abundance () are regulated in their temporal fluctuations. We present novel evidence for widespread regulation of biodiversity. For 59 plant and animal assemblages from around the globe monitored annually for a decade or more, the majority exhibited regulated fluctuations compared to the null hypothesis of an unconstrained random walk. However, there was little evidence for statistical artifacts, regulation driven by correlations with average annual temperature, or local-scale compensatory fluctuations in or . In the absence of major environmental perturbations, such as urbanization or cropland transformation, species richness and abundance may be buffered and exhibit some resilience in their temporal trajectories. These results suggest that regulatory processes are occurring despite unprecedented environmental change, highlighting the need for community-level assessment of biodiversity trends, as well as extensions of existing theory to address open source pools and shifting environmental conditions.
References
Science. 2011 Nov 4;334(6056):652-5
[PMID: 22053045]
