Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Center for Conservation Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Nat Ecol Evol. 2018 Dec;2(12):1889-1896. doi: 10.1038/s41559-018-0709-x. Epub 2018 Nov 5.
A foundational paradigm in biological and Earth sciences is that our planet is divided into distinct ecoregions and biomes demarking unique assemblages of species. This notion has profoundly influenced scientific research and environmental policy. Given recent advances in technology and data availability, however, we are now poised to ask whether ecoregions meaningfully delimit biological communities. Using over 200 million observations of plants, animals and fungi we show compelling evidence that ecoregions delineate terrestrial biodiversity patterns. We achieve this by testing two competing hypotheses: the sharp-transition hypothesis, positing that ecoregion borders divide differentiated biotic communities; and the gradual-transition hypothesis, proposing instead that species turnover is continuous and largely independent of ecoregion borders. We find strong support for the sharp-transition hypothesis across all taxa, although adherence to ecoregion boundaries varies across taxa. Although plant and vertebrate species are tightly linked to sharp ecoregion boundaries, arthropods and fungi show weaker affiliations to this set of ecoregion borders. Our results highlight the essential value of ecological data for setting conservation priorities and reinforce the importance of protecting habitats across as many ecoregions as possible. Specifically, we conclude that ecoregion-based conservation planning can guide investments that simultaneously protect species-, community- and ecosystem-level biodiversity, key for securing Earth's life support systems into the future.
在生物和地球科学中，一个基础范式是我们的星球分为不同的生态区和生物群系，这些区域和群系界定了独特的物种组合。这一概念深刻地影响了科学研究和环境政策。然而，鉴于最近技术和数据可用性的进步，我们现在可以提出这样一个问题，即生态区是否能够有意义地界定生物群落。我们使用了超过 2 亿个对植物、动物和真菌的观测数据，有力地证明了生态区划分了陆地生物多样性模式。我们通过检验两个相互竞争的假设来实现这一点：急剧过渡假设，即生态区边界将不同的生物群落分开；渐进过渡假设，即物种更替是连续的，并且在很大程度上独立于生态区边界。我们发现，所有分类群都强烈支持急剧过渡假设，尽管对生态区边界的遵守程度因分类群而异。虽然植物和脊椎动物物种与急剧的生态区边界紧密相关，但节肢动物和真菌与这组生态区边界的联系较弱。我们的研究结果突出了生态数据在确定保护重点方面的重要价值，并强调了在尽可能多的生态区保护栖息地的重要性。具体来说，我们得出结论，基于生态区的保护规划可以指导投资，同时保护物种、群落和生态系统层面的生物多样性，这对于确保地球的生命支持系统在未来的可持续性至关重要。
