Functional Diversity Indices Research Articles

Zooplankton functional complementarity between temporary and permanent environments

Abstract: Aims This study aims to evaluate the functional complementarity of the zooplankton community between temporary ponds and permanent lagoons. We hypothesize that temporary environments will be functionally more diverse than permanent environments and will have different functional composition. Methods Five temporary ponds and five permanent lagoons were compared regarding their limnological characteristics, species richness, functional diversity indices and functional trait composition. Results No differences between ponds and lagoons were found regarding mean species richness and functional diversity. However, a larger number of species was found in the set of temporary environments i.e., although the mean richness was the same, the species' identity varied from one pond to another. Ponds showed greater variability in functional trait composition, resulting in significant differences in zooplankton functional dispersion. Ponds also presented a greater range of limnological characteristics. Conclusions Temporary and permanent environments present high limnological and functional complementarity, which make them important for maintaining biodiversity on a regional scale. Temporary environments seem to be refugees for species that do not settle in more stable environments because these species are more likely to colonize environments that periodically restart their successional trajectory. Therefore, actions that seek to preserve complementary environments are essential and urgent, especially those related to small and temporary environments.

Functional diversity of microbial communities associated with fermentation processes in coffee (Coffea arabica L.)

Mucilage fermentation conducted to degrade and remove coffee mucilage, is an important stage to also define coffee quality, but each microorganism’s contribution to the final quality is not yet known. Therefore, tools are needed to easily identify this relationship in order to be used to enhance coffee quality. The present manuscript describes the behavior of the microbial communities present in fermentations conducted under various conditions, which produced differences in the sensory quality of the coffee as assessed by the community-level catabolic profile approach. The coffee samples camefrom six different fermentation processes that produced coffee in two quality classifications according to the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) protocol: very good and excellent. Functional diversity of the microbial communities and substrate consumption were compared through analysis of variance. The multidimensional scaling analysis was used to identify the similarities or differences between treatments. The indices of functional diversity revealed significantdifferences and direct proportionality with the quality rating. Diversity index (H) was between 2.09 and 2.71 and Evenness was between 1.75 and 2.21. The consumption of groups of substrates was different between fermentations, especially in carbohydrates and carboxylic acids, and the greatest consumption of these was found in the excellent-quality coffee. The different fermentative processes evaluated by this technique showed a high metabolic activity related to the great diversity of substrates given to the microbial communities and microorganisms involved, causing reactions that had influence on the final quality of the product. Key words: Catabolic profiles; Coffee quality; Diversity indices.

Diversidade florística e funcional-reprodutiva das espécies arbóreas-arbustivas utilizadas na ornamentação de praças do município de São Raimundo Nonato, PI, Brasil

We evaluated the urban green area of the São Raimundo Nonato city (PI), regarding the floristic composition and the pollination service, comparing it with the natural ecosystem (caatinga). We employed indices of functional diversity of the reproductive traits by means of the usual procedures of collect and identification of species, classification (the origin, floral attributes, and pollination syndromes), followed by data analysis. The results show that the urban area presents a greater functional diversity because of the richness of exotic species, but with specialized pollination systems and resources inaccessible to native pollinators. By removing them, the rates are higher in the caatinga, revealing the need for planning in afforestation with native species suggested.

Functional diversity of plant communities at edge and interior of a submontane Atlantic Forest: greater functional than compositional stability

Abstract We compared the functional diversity of community at edge and interior areas of an Atlantic forest fragment to test the hypothesis that higher functional diversity exists along edges - in consonance with their higher abundance and floristic diversity as compared to the interior of the forest. By considering a set of vegetative, reproductive and phenological traits and ecosystem service aspects of edge and interior environments, we defined plant functional groups using Cluster Analysis, followed by a silhouette width analysis, together with functional diversity indices of richness, divergence, evenness and dispersion. The main functional groups formed were similar between the edges and interior. Functional richness was the only index that demonstrated differences between edge and the interior. Alterations were perceived in relation to species richness and the Shannon index. Edge effects were not significant in the formation of functional groups. In contrast to our original hypothesis, similar groups were formed both along the edge in the interior - indicating that species played similar ecological roles in both environments, with similar responses to different environmental factors - so that forest edges were colonized by a series of different species that maintained diversity patterns similar to those found in the forest interior.

Overstory and niche attributes drive understory biomass production in three types of subtropical plantations

Understory vegetation plays a very important role in maintaining biodiversity, soil nutrient cycling and carbon stocks, yet biomass productivity at the understory layer has been largely overlooked in previous studies. Our study provides one of the most comprehensive tests of how niche attributes, soil fertility and canopy attributes shape understory biomass in a forest restoration context. We investigated the relative effects on understory biomass of five categories of ecological variables related to five hypotheses – i) niche complementarity: functional diversity indices of understory plants, ii) mass ratio: community weighted mean (CWM) traits of understory plants, iii) overstory attributes: planted tree diameter, basal area, height, canopy cover and stem density, iv) soil nutrients: soil pH and soil C, N, P, and v) plantation type (an exotic broad-leaved monoculture, a native broad-leaved monoculture and a native conifer mix). Here, understory biomass was studied at two understory layers: high (2 to 7 m above ground) and low (less than 2 m above ground) in the plantations of subtropical area of Southern China. We surveyed vegetation, measured soil nutrients and determined five important leaf functional traits for each species. Multiple linear regression models were performed to select the best models and to assess the statistical significance of the effects of each variable. Our results showed that the best models for predicting biomass in the high (mean = 603.29 g m−2) and low (mean = 596.81 g m−2) layers were, respectively, the models for canopy cover and functional richness (FRic) interacting with plantation type. Model analyses showed a positive relationship between canopy cover and high-layer biomass (P < 0.001 and P < 0.05 respectively in native mixed-conifer and broad-leaved plantations) and between FRic and low-layer biomass (P < 0.001 in both native mixed-conifer and broad-leaved plantations) in the two native plantations. A positive relationship was also found between the CWM of leaf dry matter content and biomass in the high understory layer in the native mixed-conifer plantation (P < 0.001). Meanwhile, soil N was negatively correlated with low layer biomass (P < 0.01). Our study highlighted the dominant role of overstory attributes and niche complementarity in explaining forest understory productivity compared to other hypotheses. The effects of ecological factors on understory biomass varied in direction and magnitude, depending on understory stratum and plantation type. Indeed, the mechanisms behind biomass production in the high and low understory layers appeared to be decoupled. The typical biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationship only drove low-layer biomass, while high-layer biomass was influenced by canopy cover.

Taxonomic and functional beta diversity of woody communities along Amazon forest succession: The relative importance of stand age, soil properties and spatial factor

Predicting how multiple drivers shape beta diversity across tropical forest is one of the most important issues in ecology. However, the relative importance of drivers to the spatial and temporal dissimilarities in woody species composition (beta diversity) along Amazon forest succession remains poorly studied. In this study, we assessed how stand age (factor related to habitat filtering and succession), soil properties (factors related to resource availability and environmental filtering) and forest patches distance (spatial factor related to dispersal limitation) affect the taxonomic and functional beta diversity along an Amazon forest succession. Taxonomic and functional beta diversity indices were quantified based on abundance-based metrics and trait-based approach using functional traits related to plant dispersion and growth. Overall, taxonomic and functional beta diversity was consistently higher in initial successional stage among plots and sites; however, old-growth forest presented the lowest functional beta diversity. We observed differences in beta diversity components among successional stages and old-growth forest. The beta diversity components showed a clear higher pattern in the different second-growth forests than in the old-growth forest. Soil fertility and stand age explained most of the variation in taxonomic and functional turnover and beta diversity. This pattern probably is an outcome of the patches within a continuous old-growth forest as main seed sources for the colonization and establishment of tree species. We observed that functional beta diversity was lower than taxonomic beta diversity; therefore we presumed that there is higher functional redundancy in old-growth forests, compared to taxonomic beta diversity. However, despite the lower functional beta diversity and higher functional redundancy in old-growth forest, probably shade-tolerant species have different functions than second-growth forests that re-growing after shifting cultivation. We argue that an old-growth forest has lower functional diversity than second-growth forests but, it is probably induced by a high turnover of second-growth forests.

Response of dung beetle taxonomic and functional diversity to livestock grazing in an arid ecosystem

1. The consequences of cattle raising on biodiversity have been extensively explored in the humid forests; however, its impact in dry forests is less understood. The Dry Chaco is the largest dry forest in South America and deforestation rates in this region are one of the highest in the world. Dung beetles play a key role in cattle dung burial, leading to improved soil quality and reducing parasite incidence. Consequently, sustainable management of cattle should preserve this taxon and associated ecosystem services.2. We compared the taxonomic and functional response of dung beetles to two different livestock managements with different conservation of tree cover (open pastures and silvopastoral systems) in the Dry Chaco.3. Through GLMM analysis, we compared richness, species abundance, taxonomic and functional composition, and three indices of functional diversity between native forest and cattle systems and explored the role of environmental variables to explain changes.4. We captured 2838 individuals of 45 species. Taxonomic and functional richness and functional composition were similar among habitats. Total abundance was greater in the native forest than in silvopastoral systems and pastures. However, functional evenness and dispersion were greater in pastures than in the native forest.5. Previous studies in humid forests showed the strong impact of cattle raising on dung beetle communities; however, the results of this study suggest that in dry forests ranching could have a low impact on native dung beetle diversity; however, reduced population abundance could result in impoverishment of dung beetle communities over time.

Effect of vineyard characteristics on the functional diversity of insectivorous birds as indicator of potential biocontrol services

Insectivorous birds have a large potential to provide biocontrol services in vineyards, thus contributing to the sustainability of this agroecosystem. Bird communities are influenced by vineyard management practices and surrounding landscape, which may influence their role as ecosystem service providers. Functional diversity indices are indicators of bird community composition, and thus may reflect potential biocontrol services. We surveyed 31 vineyard plots in southern Portugal to assess vineyard characteristics (management intensity and landscape context) that may influence functional insectivorous birds in vineyards, using seven functional diversity indices as potential biocontrol indicators. We used eight characteristics of vineyard plots to define three vineyard types for our case-study: TREE – smaller vineyard plots surround by a more diverse landscape, with larger proportion of tree-habitats; AGRI – vineyard plots with medium size and greater cover by herbaceous vegetation, mostly surrounded by agricultural habitats (pastureland, crops); and VINE – vineyard plots of larger size and higher inter-row herbaceous vegetation, often surrounded by other vineyard plots. Five potential biocontrol indicators seemed to vary according to vineyard type. The richness of functional insectivorous birds, functional dispersion, functional richness, and Rao's functional diversity were all higher in vineyard TREE type compared to both AGRI and VINE types. The functional divergence was higher in vineyard TREE type than in VINE type, but similar to AGRI type. Accordingly, TREE type vineyards hold bird communities with more diverse and widespread ecological functions. This implies that smaller vineyard plots, in more heterogeneous landscapes, with neighbouring woodlands seem to have a higher potential of biocontrol services provided by insectivorous birds as suggested by using functional diversity indices as indicators.

Quantifying responses of dung beetle assemblages to cattle grazing removal over a short-term in introduced Brazilian pastures

Pasture management techniques may affect the biodiversity of insects beneficial to pastures, such as dung beetles. Cattle grazing removal over a short-term is widely used in introduced Brazilian pastures. However, the impact of this management on dung beetles is still unknown. This study evaluated the taxonomic (species richness, abundance, biomass, species composition, Shannon, and Simpson indexes) and functional (functional richness FRic, functional dispersion FDis, functional evenness FEve, and community-weighted means of trait values CWMs) dung beetle assemblages response to cattle grazing removal over a short-in introduced pastures. We sampled dung beetles, with pitfall traps baited with cattle dung and carrion, simultaneously in pastures with constant cattle grazing (control), and one, three, and five months after cattle grazing removal in Aquidauana, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Taxonomic metrics and FRic, FDis, and FEve did not differ among control and pasture treatments. We found that pastures with one month of cattle removal maintain the same CWM coprophagous diet from the control, and higher CWM biomass in relation to control. Although cattle grazing removal, at least over the short-term, does not cause a negative impact on dung beetle taxonomic metrics and functional diversity indexes, two important traits associated to dung removal are negatively affected after three months of cattle removal. Thus, we suggest that one month of cattle removal to grazing rotational management in introduced Brazilian pastures can be a useful strategy to, besides conserving the grass, also conserving dung beetle diversity, and consequently the ecological functions performed by them.

Impact of management of cover crop–soybean agroecosystems on rhizosphere microbial communities

AbstractKnowledge of the rhizosphere and use of quality microbial bioinputs are tools to achieve agricultural sustainability. The impact of management of cover crop–soybean agroecosystems on rhizosphere microbial communities was evaluated. A field experiment in a randomized complete block design with factorial arrangement in sub‐divided plots was performed. Effects of fertilization (0 and 45 kg·ha−1), oats, rye and control without cover crops, plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) co‐inoculation of Azospirillum brasilense and Pseudomonas fluorescens, and three sampling times on microbial counts, community‐level physiological profiles (CLPP) and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T‐RLFP) were studied. CLPP were drastically changed at three sampling times: before glyphosate, after glyphosate and at soybean harvest. Before glyphosate application, the interaction between PGPR inoculation and coverage treatments modified the functional and structural profiles of the rhizosphere microbial communities. Furthermore, the highest microbial counts and the greatest functional diversity indices were observed before glyphosate application but significantly decayed after glyphosate application and at soybean harvest, showing a permanent impact of glyphosate application on the rhizosphere microbial community functionality, which was confirmed with several statistical analyses. For the cover crop–soybean agroecosystems, we can conclude that the rhizosphere microbial communities showed high sensitivity to glyphosate. PGPR inoculation only increased the aerial biomass of rye at the jointing and grain‐filling stages. Inoculated plants without fertilization and non‐inoculated plants with fertilization showed similar aerial biomass production of this crop. This work demonstrates that different management decisions can change plant–microorganism relationships in the rhizospheres of cover crops and impact aboveground biomass production. A better understanding of microbial ecology will allow the sustainable use of available resources.Highlights A field experiment was conducted using oats and rye as cover crops in succession with soybean. Management decisions changed plant–microorganism relationships and impact on microbial ecology. Management of cover crops with glyphosate had negative impacts on rhizosphere microbial communities. Co‐inoculation with Azospirillum brasilense and Pseudomonas fluorescens increased the aerial biomass production of rye.

Sampling intensity influences the estimation of functional diversity indices of fish communities

Functional diversity has emerged as a key component of biodiversity in recent two decades, which has been extensively used to assess the health of aquatic ecosystems and predict the responses of fish communities to disturbances. However, sampling intensity may affect the estimation of functional diversity indices and thus lower the validity of functional diversity indices in monitoring long-term changes in ecosystem status. In this study, we used a simulation study to investigate the effect of sampling intensity on the estimation of functional diversity indices of fish communities in the Haizhou Bay, China, based on thirteen fish functional traits that reflect the characteristics of feeding, habitat use, swimming behavior, ecological adaptation, reproduction and life history. In general, sampling intensity influenced the estimation of functional diversity indices, and the accuracy and precision of the estimation of functional diversity indices increased with the sampling intensity. Functional richness and functional divergence indices were less sensitive to sampling intensity than functional evenness indices. The effects of sampling intensity on the estimation of functional diversity indices also showed an obvious seasonal variability, reflecting seasonal differences in trait distribution of composite fish species. This study indicates that it is essential to evaluate and identify the seasonal sampling intensity required in monitoring programs, especially for long-term monitoring program of fisheries ecosystems.

Food availability, depth, and turbidity drive zooplankton functional diversity over time in a Neotropical floodplain

We evaluated temporal trends in zooplankton functional diversity (functional richness—FRic, evenness—FEve divergence—FDiv, and Community-Weighted Means—CWM) in 12 habitats of the Upper Parana River floodplain (Brazil) over 16 years (2000–2016) and their relationships with environmental predictors (chlorophyll-a, water depth, and turbidity). We hypothesized that different environmental drivers affect zooplankton's functional component in a distinct way. We predicted that: (i) FRic is positively related to increases in chlorophyll-a concentration and turbidity associated with impacts of damming on the floodplain and depth. (ii) FEve is negatively related to increases in chlorophyll-a concentration and turbidity, and positively related to depth. (iii) FDiv is negatively related to the increase in chlorophyll-a, depth, and turbidity. (iv) Finally, we asked how do each of the traits change the functional indexes and their relation to environmental predictors. FRic and FEve fluctuated oppositely and cyclically every five years. FDiv showed a trend similar to that of FRic. However, between 2005 and 2010 FDiv only decreased. All functional diversity indexes were explained by temporal variability, depth, and chlorophyll-a concentration. However, the influence of each variable was different for each component of functional diversity. For CWM, turbidity was negatively associated with life span and positively associated with predator escape, and type of reproduction, while predator escape and feeding type were negatively associated with depth. We highlight that, in order to maintain the drivers of zooplankton functional diversity (food availability, turbidity, and depth), it is extremely important to guarantee the floodplain ecosystem's original state of functionality.

Diversity and functional groups of copepods as a tool for interpreting trophic relationships and ecosystem functioning in estuaries

We examined trophic relationships in estuarine planktonic food webs by focusing on the assemblages and functional groups of copepods and their effects on prey and predator. We also studied the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in estuaries using different taxonomic and functional diversity indices of copepod assemblages and copepod biomass as a proxy of ecosystem functioning. We collected samples every 2 months over a 2-year period in four Brazilian estuaries. Taxonomic diversity indices showed a positive and negative relationship with chaetognath densities and ecosystem functioning, respectively. The functional indices were negatively related to the effect of predator diversity on prey. Different functional groups of copepods were positively correlated with chaetognath density, consistent with their generalist feeding habits. Thus, multifaceted approaches that use different indices and functional groups are recommended to provide a more realistic view of the trophic relationships and ecosystem functioning in estuaries.

Species and functional plant diversity enhance ecosystem functions in the central Monte desert

AbstractQuestionsNiche complementarity has been proposed as the underlying mechanism for optimizing resource use of plants in diverse ecosystems, usually associated with their functional traits and not with the species number per se. Our main questions were: (a) does species diversity optimize the use of resources in arid ecosystems; (b) is there redundancy of species in the use of water and nutrients; and (c) what diversity components most affect ecosystem functions of water regulation and material cycling?LocationCentral Monte desert, Argentina.MethodsWe selected vegetation patches with different species (SD) and functional diversities (FD), where we measured indicators of water regulation and material cycling. At two soil depths, we measured soil nitrate, phosphate, organic matter, chloride, electrical conductivity, and pH. We also determined decomposition, plant water use efficiency (foliar δ13C of C3 plants), and nitrogen use (δ15N). These variables were used as response variables, while total plant cover, species richness, Shannon, Simpson, evenness, and Rao's functional diversity indexes were used as predictors.ResultsAt the soil surface, response variables were better explained by models that included diversity (SD, FD or both) instead of evenness, total plant cover or null model. A diversity effect was not detected in deeper soil layers for most variables, except for electric conductivity, which had a positive effect on FD. Richness explained plant δ13C but had no influence on plant δ15N.ConclusionsDiversity of plant community influences ecosystem processes, as it increases decomposition, soil organic matter, and nutrient availability at the surface, and decreases water losses to the subsoil and plant water use efficiency. Both SD and FD explained one or more ecosystem processes of water regulation and material cycling, suggesting that individual species contribute to ecosystem functioning, with a low redundancy for arid areas.

Trait-based ecology at large scales: Assessing functional trait correlations, phylogenetic constraints and spatial variability using open data.

The growing use of functional traits in ecological research has brought new insights into biodiversity responses to global environmental change. However, further progress depends on overcoming three major challenges involving (a) statistical correlations between traits, (b) phylogenetic constraints on the combination of traits possessed by any single species, and (c) spatial effects on trait structure and trait-environment relationships. Here, we introduce a new framework for quantifying trait correlations, phylogenetic constraints and spatial variability at large scales by combining openly available species' trait, occurrence and phylogenetic data with gridded, high-resolution environmental layers and computational modelling. Our approach is suitable for use among a wide range of taxonomic groups inhabiting terrestrial, marine and freshwater habitats. We demonstrate its application using freshwater macroinvertebrate data from 35 countries in Europe. We identified a subset of available macroinvertebrate traits, corresponding to a life-history model with axes of resistance, resilience and resource use, as relatively unaffected by correlations and phylogenetic constraints. Trait structure responded more consistently to environmental variation than taxonomic structure, regardless of location. A re-analysis of existing data on macroinvertebrate communities of European alpine streams supported this conclusion, and demonstrated that occurrence-based functional diversity indices are highly sensitive to the traits included in their calculation. Overall, our findings suggest that the search for quantitative trait-environment relationships using single traits or simple combinations of multiple traits is unlikely to be productive. Instead, there is a need to embrace the value of conceptual frameworks linking community responses to environmental change via traits which correspond to the axes of life-history models. Through a novel integration of tools and databases, our flexible framework can address this need.

Fish diversity divergence between tropical eastern pacific and tropical western Atlantic coral reefs

A comparison of fish diversity was carried out among 45 sites within four localities in the Mexican Tropical Western Atlantic (TWA) and Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) regions. Several taxonomical and functional diversity indices were considered, and their relationships with the coral cover were investigated in each locality. We found that despite a lower number of species, the localities within the Mexican TEP region had equal or even higher functional diversity than the localities in the Mexican TWA region where sites within the Caribbean Sea appeared particularly poorly diversified. Divergent relationships between fish diversity and coral cover were observed between the two oceanic regions. On the one hand, it tended to be positive in the TWA, and on the other hand, it was negative in the two TEP localities. This contrast may be explained by the low coral species richness and the homogeneous habitat (low structural complexity) provided by a high cover of coral in the TEP. This study highlighted how the fish assemblages can be functionally diversified within the TEP, a region generally considered poorly diversified, and how the relationship between fish diversity and coral cover may vary between oceanic regions.

Functional-structural plant models to boost understanding of complementarity in light capture and use in mixed-species forests

Positive relationships between tree species richness and productivity have been observed in both natural and experimental forests. Complementarity in resource capture and use has been put forward as one important mechanism for the positive richness-productivity relationship. However, inference that complementarity drives this relationship is often based on statistical modelling or the use of functional diversity indices and these methods do not consider resource capture or use among individuals from various species within a community. Here I introduce functional-structural plant models as tool to study species complementarity in light capture and use in mixed-species forests. These models consider the interplay between structure, physiology and the environment in 3D and scale from organ-specific characteristics to tree and community performance. Functional-structural plant models that represent mixed-species forests have therefore the potential to disentangle the effects of structural and functional differences among species on community light capture and use using the 3D setting of the forest. Knowing how community light capture and use in mixed-species forests depends on structural and functional differences among species will shed light on the potential of species complementarity in light capture and use to drive species richness-productivity relationships.

The role of landscape composition and heterogeneity on the taxonomical and functional diversity of Mediterranean plant communities in agricultural landscapes.

The expansion of agriculture is a major driver of biodiversity loss worldwide, through changes generated in the landscape. Despite this, very little is still known about the complex relationships between landscape composition and heterogeneity and plant taxonomical and functional diversity in Mediterranean ecosystems that have been extensively managed during millennia. Although according to the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis (IDH) plant richness might peak at intermediate disturbance levels, functional diversity might increase with landscape heterogeneity and decrease with the intensity of disturbance. Here, we evaluated the associations of landscape composition (percentage of crops) and heterogeneity (diversity of land-cover classes) with plant taxonomical diversity (richness, diversity, evenness), local contribution to beta diversity, and functional diversity (functional richness, evenness, divergence and dispersion) in 20 wild Olea europaea communities appearing within agricultural landscapes of Mallorca Island (Western Mediterranean Basin). In accordance with the IDH, we found that overall plant richness peaked at intermediate levels of crops in the landscape, whereas plant evenness showed the opposite pattern, because richness peak was mainly related to an increase in scarce ruderal species. Plant communities surrounded by very heterogeneous landscapes were those contributing the most to beta diversity and showing the highest functional richness and evenness, likely because diverse landscapes favour the colonization of new species and traits into the communities. In addition, landscape heterogeneity decreased functional divergence (i.e., increased trait overlap of dominant species) which may enhance community resilience against disturbances through a higher functional redundancy. However, a large extent of agriculture in the landscape might reduce such resilience, as this disturbance acted as an environmental filter that decreased functional dispersion (i.e, remaining species shared similar traits). Overall, our study highlights the importance of considering several indices of taxonomical and functional diversity to deeply understand the complex relationships between ecosystems functions and landscape context.

Corrigendum

Functional EcologyVolume 34, Issue 11 p. 2422-2422 CORRIGENDUMFree Access Corrigendum This article corrects the following: Environmental controls override grazing effects on plant functional traits in Tibetan rangelands Yun Jäschke, Gwendolyn Heberling, Karsten Wesche, Antonio J. Manzaneda, Volume 34Issue 3Functional Ecology pages: 747-760 First Published online: December 20, 2019 First published: 09 September 2020 https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13651AboutSectionsPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat In Jäschke, Heberling, and Wesche (2020), the authors identified an error in Figure 3 after publication. The authors have determined that Figures 3(d) functional richness and 3(e) functional divergence were wrongly plotted due to a small error in the R-code. The authors regret this error. This error does not affect the figure caption or the main text of the article. The corrected figure is reproduced here. FIGURE 3Open in figure viewerPowerPoint Comparison of species and functional diversity indices under relatively heavy and light grazing conditions in each grassland type. (a) species richness, (b) shannon diversity, (c) species evenness, (d) functional richness, (e) functional divergence and (f) functional evenness. Significant (p < .05) differences between grassland types are indicated by uppercase letters and significant differences between grazing intensities are shown with p-values directly REFERENCE Jäschke, Y., Heberling, G., & Wesche, K. (2020). Environmental controls override grazing effects on plant functional traits in Tibetan rangelands. Functional Ecology, 34, 747– 760. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13492 Volume34, Issue11November 2020Pages 2422-2422 FiguresReferencesRelatedInformation

How does fish functional diversity respond to environmental changes in two large shallow lakes?

Increasing threats to freshwater biodiversity from environmental changes and human activities highlight the need to understand the linkages between biological communities and their environment. Species richness has dominated our view of biodiversity patterns for over a century, but it is increasingly recognized that a trait-based, causal view of biodiversity may be more meaningful than species richness or taxonomic composition. This rationale has led to the exploration of functional diversity (FD) indices to quantify variation in traits that mediate species' contributions to ecosystem processes. In the present study, we quantified FD of fish communities in two large shallow lakes in China with different disturbances level using long-term monitoring data sets. Random-Forests regression was applied to examine how changes in FD were related to natural and human-related environmental variables. Fish stocking, water quality, climate, and hydrological changes were identified as the most important predictors of FD long-term trends. However, the major drivers of FD differed between two lakes, i.e., human activities explaining a greater proportion of FD variance in Lake Taihu, whereas physicochemical environmental factors prominently explained FD variance in Lake Hulun. Moreover, FD indices appeared more sensitive than species richness to multiple disturbances, suggesting that functional traits can be used to detect ecosystem alterations. This study offers insight into how FD can improve our understanding of the associations between fish communities and environmental changes of relevance also for lake and fisheries management.