Detecting and attributing the causes of biodiversity change: needs, gaps and solutions

Tekwa, Edward W.; Gonzalez, Andrew; Zurell, Damaris; O’Connor, Mary I.

doi:10.1098/rstb.2022.0181

Cited by 13 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…Our results can neither corroborate nor refute these findings but suggest time-lagged responses and transient dynamics as potential explanation for such misalignment. In the future, mechanistic models that explicitly consider important ecological processes such as dispersal, demography and species interactions [ 8 , 13 ] could help in attributing trends to different abiotic drivers and biotic processes [ 70 , 71 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Range and climate niche shifts in European and North American breeding birds

Zurell,

Schifferle,

Herrando

et al. 2024

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Species respond dynamically to climate change and exhibit time lags. Consequently, species may not occupy their full climatic niche during range shifting. Here, we assessed climate niche tracking during recent range shifts of European and United States (US) birds. Using data from two European bird atlases and from the North American Breeding Bird Survey between the 1980s and 2010s, we analysed range overlap and climate niche overlap based on kernel density estimation. Phylogenetic multiple regression was used to assess the effect of species morphological, ecological and biogeographic traits on range and niche metrics. European birds shifted their ranges north and north-eastwards, US birds westwards. Range unfilling was lower than expected by null models, and niche expansion was more common than niche unfilling. Also, climate niche tracking was generally lower in US birds and poorly explained by species traits. Overall, our results suggest that dispersal limitations were minor in range shifting birds in Europe and the USA while delayed extinctions from unfavourable areas seem more important. Regional differences could be related to differences in land use history and monitoring schemes. Comparative analyses of range and niche shifts provide a useful screening approach for identifying the importance of transient dynamics and time-lagged responses to climate change. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Ecological novelty and planetary stewardship: biodiversity dynamics in a transforming biosphere’.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Range and climate niche shifts in European and North American breeding birds

Zurell,

Schifferle,

Herrando

et al. 2024

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

Self Cite

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show abstract

“…The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) published a very alarming global biodiversity assessment report in 2019 (IPBES 2019). In this context, characterizing the state of biodiversity, the impact of drivers and responses is a key step to take action and 'bend the curve of biodiversity loss' (Tekwa et al 2023). While we urgently need reliable assessments to quantify temporal changes in biodiversity and their links to global drivers, we call for more attention to overlooked and yet informative components of biodiversity changes.…”

Section: Conservation Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Acknowledging our current sources of (mis)understanding of the temporal changes of biodiversity and of their drivers at the global scale is urgently needed (Tekwa et al 2023). International legislation and objectives (such as those discussed at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference of the Parties) directly rely on our general knowledge and understanding of global biodiversity dynamics.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sources of confusion in global biodiversity trends

Boënnec,

Dakos,

Devictor

2024

Oikos

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Populations and ecological communities are changing worldwide, and empirical studies exhibit a mixture of either declining or mixed trends. Confusion in global biodiversity trends thus remains, while assessing such changes is of major social, political, and scientific importance. Part of this variability may arise from the difficulty to reliably assess global biodiversity trends. Here, we conducted a literature review of studies documenting the temporal dynamics of global biodiversity. We classified the differences among approaches, data, and methodology used by the reviewed papers to reveal common findings and sources of discrepancies. We show that reviews and meta‐analyses, along with the use of global indicators, are more likely to conclude that trends are declining. On the other hand, the longer the data are available, the more nuanced are the trends they generate. Our results also highlight the lack of studies providing information on the impact of synergistic pressures on a global scale, making it even more difficult to understand the driving factors of the observed changes and how to decide conservation plan accordingly. Finally, we stress the importance of taking into account the sources of confusion identified, as well as the complexity of biodiversity changes, in order to implement effective conservation strategies. In particular, biodiversity dynamics are almost systematically assumed to be linear, while non‐linear trends are largely neglected. Clarifying the sources of confusion in global biodiversity trends should strengthen large‐scale biodiversity monitoring and conservation.

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“…The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has published a very alarming global biodiversity assessment report in 2019. In this context, characterizing the state of biodiversity, the impact of drivers and responses is a key step to take action and "bend the curve of biodiversity loss" (Tekwa et al, 2023). While we urgently need reliable assessments to quantify temporal changes in biodiversity and their links to global drivers, we call for more attention to overlooked and yet informative components of biodiversity changes.…”

Section: Conservation Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Acknowledging our current sources of (mis)understanding of the temporal changes of biodiversity and of their drivers at the global scale is urgently needed (Tekwa et al, 2023). International legislation and objectives (such as those discussed at United Nations Biodiversity Conference of the Parties) directly rely on our general knowledge and understanding of global biodiversity dynamics.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sources of confusion in global biodiversity trends

Boënnec,

Dakos,

Devictor

2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Populations and ecological communities are changing worldwide, and empirical studies exhibit a mixture of either declining or mixed trends. Confusion in global biodiversity trends thus remains while being of major social, political, and scientific importance. Part of this variability may arise from the difficulty to reliably assess global biodiversity trends. Here, we conducted a literature review of studies documenting the temporal dynamics of global biodiversity. We classified the differences among approaches, data and methodology used by the reviewed papers to reveal common findings and sources of discrepancies. We show that reviews and meta-analyses, along with the use of global indicators, are more likely to conclude that trends are declining. On the other hand, the longer the data are available, the more nuanced are the trends they generate. Our results also highlight the lack of studies providing information on the impact of synergistic pressures on a global scale, making it even more difficult to understand the driving factors of the observed changes and how to decide conservation plan accordingly. Finally, we stress the importance of taking into account the sources of confusion identified, as well as the complexity of biodiversity changes, in order to implement effective conservation strategies. In particular, biodiversity dynamics are almost systematically assumed to be linear, while non-linear trends are largely neglected. Clarifying the sources of confusion in global biodiversity trends should strengthen large scale biodiversity monitoring and conservation.

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Detecting and attributing the causes of biodiversity change: needs, gaps and solutions

Cited by 13 publications

References 72 publications

Range and climate niche shifts in European and North American breeding birds

Range and climate niche shifts in European and North American breeding birds

Sources of confusion in global biodiversity trends

Sources of confusion in global biodiversity trends

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