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Temporal change in functional rarity in marine fish assemblages
Faye Moyes1, Isaac Trindade-Santos1,2, Anne E Magurran1
1Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9TH, UK.
Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|February 22, 2023
Summary
Marine ecosystems are rapidly changing. This study found that while taxonomic rarity shifts predictably with ecosystem size, functional rarity unexpectedly increases, highlighting the need to measure both diversity types.
Area of Science:
- Marine ecology
- Biodiversity research
Background:
- Ecological assemblages are undergoing rapid reorganization, especially in marine environments.
- The relationship between changes in taxonomic diversity and functional diversity remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the temporal covariance of taxonomic rarity and functional rarity.
- To assess if taxonomic rarity changes serve as a proxy for functional rarity shifts over time.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 30 years of scientific trawl data from two Scottish marine ecosystems.
- Examination of trends in taxonomic rarity and functional rarity in relation to assemblage size.
Main Results:
- Temporal shifts in taxonomic rarity aligned with a null model of changes in assemblage size.
- Functional rarity consistently increased as marine assemblages grew larger, contrary to expectations.
Conclusions:
- Biodiversity assessments must consider both taxonomic and functional dimensions.
- Functional rarity dynamics in marine ecosystems may not directly mirror taxonomic rarity trends.
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