Abstract
In an era of global change, the process of biotic homogenisation by which regional biotas become more similar through time has attracted considerable attention from ecologists. Here, a retrospective look at the literature is taken and the question asked how comprehensive is the understanding of this global phenomenon? The goal is to identify potential areas for additional and future enquiries to advance this research frontier and best ensure the long-term preservation of biological diversity across the world. Six propositions are presented here to; (1) broaden our geographic and taxonomic understanding, (2) diversify the spatial and temporal scales of inquiry, (3) reconcile past and embrace new approaches to quantification, (4) improve our knowledge of the underlying drivers, (5) reveal the conservation implications and (6) forecast future homogenisation. It is argued that significant progress in the understanding of the causes, consequences and conservation implication of biotic homogenisation will come by integrating concepts and approaches from ecology, evolution and conservation across a hierarchy of spatial and temporal scales.
Highlights
Since its first formal definition close to two decades ago, biotic homogenisation – referring to the increase in floral and faunal similarity amongst communities or decrease in betadiversity over time (McKinney and Lockwood 1999) – has been the focus of considerableCopyright Julian D
Whereas biodiversity conservation is primarily concerned with maintaining native species diversity at local and/or regional spatial scales, biotic homogenisation describes changes in beta-diversity over time
The ‘Homogocene’ era conjures the prospect of Kunstler’s (1993) ‘The Geography of Nowhere’, where the dissolving of cultural distinction over time threatens the very fabric of society
Summary
Since its first formal definition close to two decades ago, biotic homogenisation – referring to the increase in floral and faunal similarity amongst communities or decrease in betadiversity over time (McKinney and Lockwood 1999) – has been the focus of considerableCopyright Julian D. Expanding geographic and taxonomic understanding of the homogenisation process are ripe areas of future investigation. It was found that spatial scales of investigation vary extensively, with studies quantifying biotic homogenisation at local (
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