When Do Ecosystem Services Depend on Rare Species?

Dee, Laura E.; Cowles, Jane; Isbell, Forest; Pau, Stéphanie; Gaines, Steven D.; Reich, Peter B.

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2019.03.010

Cited by 189 publications

(158 citation statements)

References 94 publications

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“…As Powney et al (2019, p. 3) state, "the lack of standardized monitoring data limits our understanding of the link between change in species occupancy, local abundance and [functional significance]" (pollination in their case). While rare species can be of great conservation significance, they might tend to have relatively little functional significance (in terms of contribution to ecosystem services such as pollination, pest control and so on), compared with abundant species (e.g., Winfree et al, 2015; but see Dee et al, 2019). Different management goals can require very different types of data and different requirements in terms of designing robust monitoring programmes (e.g.…”

Section: The Popcorn Effectmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interpreting insect declines: seven challenges and a way forward

Didham

Basset

Collins

et al. 2020

Insect Conserv Diversity

334

355

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Many insect species are under threat from the anthropogenic drivers of global change. There have been numerous well‐documented examples of insect population declines and extinctions in the scientific literature, but recent weaker studies making extreme claims of a global crisis have drawn widespread media coverage and brought unprecedented public attention. This spotlight might be a double‐edged sword if the veracity of alarmist insect decline statements do not stand up to close scrutiny. We identify seven key challenges in drawing robust inference about insect population declines: establishment of the historical baseline, representativeness of site selection, robustness of time series trend estimation, mitigation of detection bias effects, and ability to account for potential artefacts of density dependence, phenological shifts and scale‐dependence in extrapolation from sample abundance to population‐level inference. Insect population fluctuations are complex. Greater care is needed when evaluating evidence for population trends and in identifying drivers of those trends. We present guidelines for best‐practise approaches that avoid methodological errors, mitigate potential biases and produce more robust analyses of time series trends. Despite many existing challenges and pitfalls, we present a forward‐looking prospectus for the future of insect population monitoring, highlighting opportunities for more creative exploitation of existing baseline data, technological advances in sampling and novel computational approaches. Entomologists cannot tackle these challenges alone, and it is only through collaboration with citizen scientists, other research scientists in many disciplines, and data analysts that the next generation of researchers will bridge the gap between little bugs and big data.

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Section: The Popcorn Effectmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interpreting insect declines: seven challenges and a way forward

Didham

Basset

Collins

et al. 2020

Insect Conserv Diversity

334

355

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In other words, rarity does not only relate to the mere abundance or geographic extent of species but also to their functional distinctiveness 10,11 . If rare species are not redundant with other species and instead hold unique combinations of traits, they will likely contribute disproportionately to ecosystem functioning and associated services 12 . These two facets of rarity have been widely discussed in the literature [1][2][3][4]13,14 but they have rarely been combined so far 15 .…”

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confidence: 99%

Global distribution and conservation status of ecologically rare mammal and bird species

et al. 2020

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Identifying species that are both geographically restricted and functionally distinct, i.e. supporting rare traits and functions, is of prime importance given their risk of extinction and their potential contribution to ecosystem functioning. We use global species distributions and functional traits for birds and mammals to identify the ecologically rare species, understand their characteristics, and identify hotspots. We find that ecologically rare species are disproportionately represented in IUCN threatened categories, insufficiently covered by protected areas, and for some of them sensitive to current and future threats. While they are more abundant overall in countries with a low human development index, some countries with high human development index are also hotspots of ecological rarity, suggesting transboundary responsibility for their conservation. Altogether, these results state that more conservation emphasis should be given to ecological rarity given future environmental conditions and the need to sustain multiple ecosystem processes in the long-term.

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“…In the same way, we could apply the same approach by merging the networks of plants and their pollinators of a single habitat but sampled every month of a year. It is now recognized that dominant and abundant species interact the most, assuming that their role in maintaining ecosystem functions is of more importance than those of rare species and interactions [70]. However, the majority of species are rare and are often considered specialists, thus identifying how and when rare interactions occur and contribute to ecosystem function may reveal novel aspects of community ecology, as this set species is the reason our planet is highly diverse [70].…”

Section: A New Approach To Studying Biodiversity Uniquenessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is now recognized that dominant and abundant species interact the most, assuming that their role in maintaining ecosystem functions is of more importance than those of rare species and interactions [70]. However, the majority of species are rare and are often considered specialists, thus identifying how and when rare interactions occur and contribute to ecosystem function may reveal novel aspects of community ecology, as this set species is the reason our planet is highly diverse [70]. As Daniel Janzen once said, "What escapes the eye, however, is a much more insidious kind of extinction: the extinction of ecological interactions" [71].…”

Section: A New Approach To Studying Biodiversity Uniquenessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring and Linking the Missing Part of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function: The Diversity of Biotic Interactions

et al. 2020

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Biotic interactions are part of all ecosystem attributes and play an important role in the structure and stability of biological communities. In this study, we give a brief account of how the threads of biotic interactions are linked and how we can measure such complexity by focusing on mutualistic interactions. We start by explaining that although biotic interactions are fundamental ecological processes, they are also a component of biodiversity with a clear α, β and γ diversity structure which can be measured and used to explain how biotic interactions vary over time and space. Specifically, we explain how to estimate the α-diversity by measuring the properties of species interaction networks. We also untangle the components of the β-diversity and how it can be used to make pairwise comparisons between networks. Moreover, we move forward to explain how local ecological networks are a subset of a regional pool of species and potential interactions, γ-diversity, and how this approach allows assessing the spatial and temporal dynamics of ecological networks. Finally, we propose a new framework for studying interactions and the biodiversity–ecosystem function relationship by identifying the unique and common interactions of local networks over space, time or both together.

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When Do Ecosystem Services Depend on Rare Species?

Abstract: Most species in all ecosystems are rare in some form.

Cited by 189 publications

References 94 publications

Interpreting insect declines: seven challenges and a way forward

Interpreting insect declines: seven challenges and a way forward

Global distribution and conservation status of ecologically rare mammal and bird species

Measuring and Linking the Missing Part of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function: The Diversity of Biotic Interactions

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