Species diversity within morpho-functional groups drives diversity dependence in reef ecosystems

Area of Science:

• Marine biology
• Paleontology
• Ecology

Background:

• Species diversity shifts significantly impact reef ecosystem composition, affecting species origination and extinction.
• Previous research predominantly used taxonomic perspectives to study diversity impacts.
• A novel morpho-functional (MF) group approach is introduced to analyze these impacts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the consequences of species diversity shifts on reef ecosystems using a morpho-functional (MF) group approach.
• To determine if diversity changes are uniform across different MF groups over time.
• To identify drivers of diversity dependence and their influence on reef architecture.

Main Methods:

• Species were categorized into MF groups based on growth forms.
• Analysis of coral origination and extinction rates across MF groups.
• Statistical correlation analysis to identify drivers of diversity patterns.

Main Results:

• Species diversity has not been uniform across MF groups historically.
• Multiple pulses of rate shifts in coral origination and extinction were observed.
• No significant correlation between species diversity increases and extinction within MF groups (absence of redundancy).
• Strong correlation found between species diversity within an MF group and origination/extinction rates of co-existing groups.
• Morphology-mediated species diversity identified as a driver for diversity dependence.

Conclusions:

• Morphology-mediated species diversity significantly influences reef functional composition.
• Species that build biogenic habitats can alter the diversity and morphology of co-existing species.
• This selective influence continuously reshapes reef architecture and functional potential over time.