A1 Journal article (refereed)
Distance decay 2.0 : A global synthesis of taxonomic and functional turnover in ecological communities (2022)
Graco‐Roza, C., Aarnio, S., Abrego, N., Acosta, A. T. R., Alahuhta, J., Altman, J., Angiolini, C., Aroviita, J., Attorre, F., Baastrup‐Spohr, L., Barrera‐Alba, J. J., Belmaker, J., Biurrun, I., Bonari, G., Bruelheide, H., Burrascano, S., Carboni, M., Cardoso, P., Carvalho, J. C., . . . Soininen, J. (2022). Distance decay 2.0 : A global synthesis of taxonomic and functional turnover in ecological communities. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 31(7), 1399-1421. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13513
JYU authors or editors
Publication details
All authors or editors: Graco‐Roza, Caio; Aarnio, Sonja; Abrego, Nerea; Acosta, Alicia T. R.; Alahuhta, Janne; Altman, Jan; Angiolini, Claudia; Aroviita, Jukka; Attorre, Fabio; Baastrup‐Spohr, Lars; et al.
Journal or series: Global Ecology and Biogeography
ISSN: 1466-822X
eISSN: 1466-8238
Publication year: 2022
Publication date: 12/05/2022
Volume: 31
Issue number: 7
Pages range: 1399-1421
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
Publication country: United Kingdom
Publication language: English
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13513
Publication open access: Openly available
Publication channel open access: Partially open access channel
Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/81149
Web address of parallel published publication (pre-print): https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.17.435827v1
Abstract
Understanding the variation in community composition and species abundances (i.e., β-diversity) is at the heart of community ecology. A common approach to examine β-diversity is to evaluate directional variation in community composition by measuring the decay in the similarity among pairs of communities along spatial or environmental distance. We provide the first global synthesis of taxonomic and functional distance decay along spatial and environmental distance by analysing 148 datasets comprising different types of organisms and environments.
Location
Global.
Time period
1990 to present.
Major taxa studied
From diatoms to mammals.
Method
We measured the strength of the decay using ranked Mantel tests (Mantel r) and the rate of distance decay as the slope of an exponential fit using generalized linear models. We used null models to test whether functional similarity decays faster or slower than expected given the taxonomic decay along the spatial and environmental distance. We also unveiled the factors driving the rate of decay across the datasets, including latitude, spatial extent, realm and organismal features.
Results
Taxonomic distance decay was stronger than functional distance decay along both spatial and environmental distance. Functional distance decay was random given the taxonomic distance decay. The rate of taxonomic and functional spatial distance decay was fastest in the datasets from mid-latitudes. Overall, datasets covering larger spatial extents showed a lower rate of decay along spatial distance but a higher rate of decay along environmental distance. Marine ecosystems had the slowest rate of decay along environmental distances.
Main conclusions
In general, taxonomic distance decay is a useful tool for biogeographical research because it reflects dispersal-related factors in addition to species responses to climatic and environmental variables. Moreover, functional distance decay might be a cost-effective option for investigating community changes in heterogeneous environments.
Keywords: biogeography; biotic communities; biodiversity
Contributing organizations
Related projects
- A Planetary Inventory of Life – a New Synthesis Built on Big Data Combined with Novel Statistical Methods
- Ovaskainen, Otso
- European Commission
Ministry reporting: Yes
Reporting Year: 2022
JUFO rating: 3
