Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.
Université Paul Sabatier, CNRS, IRD, UMR5174 EDB (Laboratoire Évolution et Diversité Biologique), Toulouse, France.
Nat Commun. 2021 Aug 27;12(1):5162. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-25293-0.
Although species with larger body size and slow pace of life have a higher risk of extinction at a global scale, it is unclear whether this global trend will be consistent across biogeographic realms. Here we measure the functional diversity of terrestrial and freshwater vertebrates in the six terrestrial biogeographic realms and predict their future changes through scenarios mimicking a gradient of extinction risk of threatened species. We show vastly different effects of extinctions on functional diversity between taxonomic groups and realms, ranging from almost no decline to deep functional losses. The Indo-Malay and Palearctic realms are particularly inclined to experience a drastic loss of functional diversity reaching 29 and 31%, respectively. Birds, mammals, and reptiles regionally display a consistent functional diversity loss, while the projected losses of amphibians and freshwater fishes differ across realms. More efficient global conservation policies should consider marked regional losses of functional diversity across the world.
尽管在全球范围内，体型较大和生活节奏较慢的物种灭绝的风险更高，但在生物地理区域内，这种全球趋势是否一致尚不清楚。在这里，我们测量了六大陆地生物地理区域陆地和淡水脊椎动物的功能多样性，并通过模拟受威胁物种灭绝风险梯度的情景来预测它们未来的变化。我们发现，灭绝对分类群和区域之间的功能多样性的影响大不相同，从几乎没有下降到深度功能丧失。印度-马来亚和古北界特别容易经历功能多样性的急剧丧失，分别达到 29%和 31%。鸟类、哺乳动物和爬行动物在区域内显示出一致的功能多样性丧失，而预期的两栖动物和淡水鱼类的损失在各个区域有所不同。更有效的全球保护政策应考虑到世界各地功能多样性的明显区域丧失。
