Towards an Integrative, Eco-Evolutionary Understanding of Ecological Novelty: Studying and Communicating Interlinked Effects of Global Change

Heger, Tina; Bernard‐Verdier, Maud; Geßler, Arthur; Greenwood, Alex D.; Grossart, Hans Peter; Hilker, Monika; Keinath, Silvia; Kowarik, Ingo; Kueffer, Christoph; Marquard, Elisabeth; Müller, Johannes; Niemeier, Stephanie; Onandía, Gabriela; Petermann, Jana S.; Rillig, Matthias C.; Rödel, Mark Oliver; Saul, Wolf‐Christian; Schittko, Conrad; Tockner, Klement; Joshi, Jasmin; Jeschke, Jonathan M.

doi:10.1093/biosci/biz095

Cited by 67 publications

(85 citation statements)

References 89 publications

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“…This study introduced the Biotic Novelty Index (BNI) and demonstrated its applicability as a framework to measure the ecological novelty of communities at different spatial scales. We regard ecological novelty as a continuous gradient ranging from historic or analog to novel (Heger et al . 2019) rather than a binary classification.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We designed the BNI to combine two aspects of ecological novelty: historical novelty, captured by the sequence of arrivals of new species in a given region, and functional novelty contributed by the new species (Heger et al . 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A site can be novel in terms of abiotic conditions, resulting for example from changes in climate, nitrogen deposition or pollution by microplastics. Novelty can also result from changes in species composition, structure or ecological processes, generating biotic novelty (Heger et al . 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…at an initial state and the current state). This provides a powerful way to quantify novelty compared to past “reference states” (Heger et al . 2019), but it is not easily applicable to compare two existing communities for which local temporal dynamics data are missing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We propose a new multidimensional measure of biotic novelty called Biotic Novelty Index (BNI), which serves to capture the two components of novelty as described by Heger et al . (2019): (1) a change-dependent (“different”) component and (2) a time-dependent (“before”) component.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A multidimensional framework for measuring biotic novelty: How novel is a community?

Schittko

Bernard‐Verdier

Heger

et al. 2019

Preprint

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AbstractAnthropogenic changes in climate, land use and disturbance regimes, as well as introductions of non-native species can lead to the transformation of many ecosystems. The resulting novel ecosystems are usually characterized by species assemblages that have not occurred previously in a given area. Quantifying the ecological novelty of communities (i.e. biotic novelty) would enhance the understanding of environmental change. However, quantification remains challenging since current novelty metrics, such as the number and/or proportion of non-native species in a community, fall short of considering both functional and evolutionary aspects of biotic novelty. Here, we propose the Biotic Novelty Index (BNI), an intuitive and flexible multidimensional measure that combines (1) functional differences between native and non-native introduced species with (2) temporal dynamics of species introductions. We show that the BNI is an additive partition of Rao’s quadratic entropy, capturing the novel interaction component of the community’s functional diversity. Simulations show that the index varies predictably with the relative amount of functional novelty added by recently arrived species, and they illustrate the need to provide an additional standardized version of the index. We present a detailed R-code and two applications of the BNI by (1) measuring changes of biotic novelty of dry grassland plant communities along an urbanization gradient in a metropolitan region and (2) determining the biotic novelty of plant species assemblages at a national scale. Results illustrate the applicability of the index across scales and its flexibility in the use of data of different quality. Both case studies revealed strong connections between biotic novelty and increasing urbanization, a measure of abiotic novelty. We conclude that the BNI framework may help in building a basis for a better understanding of the ecological and evolutionary consequences of global change.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A multidimensional framework for measuring biotic novelty: How novel is a community?

Schittko

Bernard‐Verdier

Heger

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Twenty‐five essential research questions to inform the protection and restoration of freshwater biodiversity

Harper

Mejbel

Longert

et al. 2021

Aquatic Conservation

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Freshwater biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate. Freshwater conservationists and environmental managers have enough evidence to demonstrate that action must not be delayed but have insufficient evidence to identify those actions that will be most effective in reversing the current trend. Here, the focus is on identifying essential research topics that, if addressed, will contribute directly to restoring freshwater biodiversity through supporting ‘bending the curve’ actions (i.e. those actions leading to the recovery of freshwater biodiversity, not simply deceleration of the current downward trend). The global freshwater research and management community was asked to identify unanswered research questions that could address knowledge gaps and barriers associated with ‘bending the curve’ actions. The resulting list was refined into six themes and 25 questions. Although context‐dependent and potentially limited in global reach, six overarching themes were identified: (i) learning from successes and failures; (ii) improving current practices; (iii) balancing resource needs; (iv) rethinking built environments; (v) reforming policy and investments; and (vi) enabling transformative change. Bold, efficient, science‐based actions are necessary to reverse biodiversity loss. We believe that conservation actions will be most effective when supported by sound evidence, and that research and action must complement one another. These questions are intended to guide global freshwater researchers and conservation practitioners, identify key projects and signal research needs to funders and governments. Our questions can act as springboards for multidisciplinary and multisectoral collaborations that will improve the management and restoration of freshwater biodiversity.

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Setting the stones to restore and monitor European flat oyster reefs in the German North Sea

Pineda-Metz

Colsoul

Niewöhner

et al. 2023

Aquatic Conservation

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Ecological restoration includes specific technical phases over the course of an ecosystem recovery process. In the marine environment and for oyster reef restoration, the installation and implementation of pilot reefs close the gap between feasibility studies with small‐scale experiments and designated upscaling for marine conservation measures. Against this background, this study presents the design, planning and installation of the first pilot oyster reef in offshore sublittoral regions of the North Sea. The work was conducted as part of marine protected area management in the Natura 2000 site Borkum Reef Ground in the German Bight, in the area of historical offshore oyster grounds. It includes logistical considerations, material selection, methodology for reef base construction and deployment of European flat oysters Ostrea edulis as spat‐on‐shell, young and adult single seed oysters, and spat‐on‐reef, as well as the development of an efficient monitoring approach for reef‐associated biodiversity. Native Oyster Restoration Alliance monitoring methodologies, such as underwater visual census and seabed images were selected, tested and successfully adapted for the pilot oyster reef and study site. The evaluation and optimization of offshore sublittoral oyster reef monitoring are presented here, and biodiversity metrics are put into perspective with data from recent and historical studies. Results show a few mobile fauna species (e.g., fish and decapods) as first colonizers after reef construction. One year later, biodiversity increased due to a larger number of invertebrate and fish species. However, the pilot oyster reef community still represents an early recolonization stage, with lower biodiversity than historical records. This study presents a proof of concept for the design, planning and construction of an offshore oyster reef and indicates stages in the recovery process. Strategies to optimize and to complement reef‐monitoring in challenging environments are discussed, emphasizing additional molecular and functional analyses for future assessments.

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Towards an Integrative, Eco-Evolutionary Understanding of Ecological Novelty: Studying and Communicating Interlinked Effects of Global Change

Cited by 67 publications

References 89 publications

A multidimensional framework for measuring biotic novelty: How novel is a community?

A multidimensional framework for measuring biotic novelty: How novel is a community?

Twenty‐five essential research questions to inform the protection and restoration of freshwater biodiversity

Setting the stones to restore and monitor European flat oyster reefs in the German North Sea

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