Phylogenetic and functional diversity in large carnivore assemblages

Abstract

Large terrestrial carnivores are important ecological components and prominent flagship species, but are often extinction prone owing to a combination of biological traits and high levels of human persecution. This study combines phylogenetic and functional diversity evaluations of global and continental large carnivore assemblages to provide a framework for conservation prioritization both between and within assemblages. Species-rich assemblages of large carnivores simultaneously had high phylogenetic and functional diversity, but species contributions to phylogenetic and functional diversity components were not positively correlated. The results further provide ecological justification for the largest carnivore species as a focus for conservation action, and suggests that range contraction is a likely cause of diminishing carnivore ecosystem function. This study highlights that preserving species-rich carnivore assemblages will capture both high phylogenetic and functional diversity, but that prioritizing species within assemblages will involve trade-offs between optimizing contemporary ecosystem function versus the evolutionary potential for future ecosystem performance.

Spatial patterns of species richness and functional diversity in Costa Rican terrestrial mammals: implications for conservation

“…Similar effects of environmental variables across similar ecoregions also could indicate similar species assemblages and ecoregional variation across scales (Belmaker & Jetz, 2013). Thus, FD was influenced by species' geographic origin and assembly rules across scales (Belmaker & Jetz, 2011, 2013Safi et al, 2011). Both species richness and FD were strongly influenced by rodents and bats (~75% of species richness); therefore, ecosystem and habitat structure would likely affect both measures as determined by factors influencing these groups' composition and functional complementarity (Rodr ıguez & Ojeda, 2014).…”

The PD Phylogenetic Diversity Framework: Linking Evolutionary History to Feature Diversity for Biodiversity Conservation

“…In this context, phylogenetic diversity may be predictive of functionality or productivity (Cadotte et al 2009 ). Dalerum ( 2013 ) set out to investigate the possible correspondence between phylogenetic diversity and functional diversity for assemblages of large carnivores. While Dalerum referred to "phylogenetic diversity" and to " PD ", in fact, their study used ED, not PD.…”

Spatial variation of mammal richness, functional and phylogenetic diversity in the Mexican transition zone

“…Thus, the interest to analyse functional and phylogenetic diversity in wildlife has increased, though birds and fish followed by mammals have been the most studied vertebrates, whilst reptiles and amphibians have been scarcely analysed (Gómez-Ortiz and Moreno 2017). This multi-dimensional approach constitutes a valuable tool that has been used to identify key species in ecosystem functioning and in systematic conservation planning (Dalerum 2013), to evaluate the quality of ecosystems and the loss of evolutionary history (Farias and Svensson 2014), and processes involved in community assembly Buckley 2011, Safi et al 2011). …”