Rare and common vertebrates span a wide spectrum of population trends

Gergana N Daskalova,John L Godlee,Isla H Myers-Smith

doi:10.1038/s41467-020-17779-0

Gergana N Daskalova, John L Godlee + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17779-0

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Journal: Nature Communications	Publication Date: Sep 2, 2020
Citations: 54	License type: open-access

Affiliation: University of Edinburgh

Abstract

The Earth’s biota is changing over time in complex ways. A critical challenge is to test whether specific biomes, taxa or types of species benefit or suffer in a time of accelerating global change. We analysed nearly 10,000 abundance time series from over 2000 vertebrate species part of the Living Planet Database. We integrated abundance data with information on geographic range, habitat preference, taxonomic and phylogenetic relationships, and IUCN Red List Categories and threats. We find that 15% of populations declined, 18% increased, and 67% showed no net changes over time. Against a backdrop of no biogeographic and phylogenetic patterning in population change, we uncover a distinct taxonomic signal. Amphibians were the only taxa that experienced net declines in the analysed data, while birds, mammals and reptiles experienced net increases. Population trends were poorly captured by species’ rarity and global-scale threats. Incorporation of the full spectrum of population change will improve conservation efforts to protect global biodiversity.

Highlights

The Earth’s biota is changing over time in complex ways
We show that vertebrate species from shark, bony fish, amphibian, bird, mammal and reptile taxa span a wide spectrum of population change across four decades
We focused on two aspects of population change—overall changes in abundance over time and abundance variability over time

Summary

Introduction

The Earth’s biota is changing over time in complex ways. A critical challenge is to test whether specific biomes, taxa or types of species benefit or suffer in a time of accelerating global change. Recent compilations of long-term population time series, extensive occurrence, phylogenetic, habitat preference and IUCN Red List Category data[6,7,8] provide a unique opportunity to test which species- and population-level attributes explain variation in population trends and fluctuations among vertebrate species monitored around the world. Such population change is the underlying process leading to community reassembly[9] and the resulting alterations to biodiversity are vitally important for ecosystem functions and services[10].

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