Phylogenetic Dimensions Research Articles

Elevational patterns of bird alpha and beta diversity in Haba Snow Mountain, Southwestern China: Implication for conservation

Understanding environmental patterns of species diversity is essential for nature reserve planning and biodiversity conservation. In this study, we explored the birds’ alpha and beta diversity along the elevational gradients in Haba Snow Mountain Nature Reserve (hereafter, HBSM), a global biodiversity hotspot, and studied which environmental factor is the main driver in explaining alpha and beta diversity patterns. Our results indicated that taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic alpha diversity consistently exhibited hump-shaped patterns with similar peaks. After controlling for species richness, both functional and phylogenetic alpha diversity increased with elevation, and the peaks at 3400–3700 m. Mean pairwise functional distance remained nearly constant along the elevation band, whereas mean pairwise phylogenetic distance shown hump-shaped pattern, and the predicted MPD peaked at the fifth band (3100–3400 m a.s.l). The functional and phylogenetic structure of bird communities in HBSM were more clustered along the elevation gradients, suggesting environmental filtering likely drove the assembly processes. Additionally, primary productivity (NDVI and/or habitat heterogeneity) and/or precipitation were robust predictors of variation in most diversity metrics. For multiple-site beta diversity, we observed that high turnover component in taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic dimensions, indicating distinct bird assemblages across various elevational bands. In pairwise beta diversity, the spatial turnover of taxonomic and phylogenetic aspects was higher than nestedness, revealing species replacement occurs relatively frequently between evolutionarily related species with similar niche and functional traits. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of considering both different dimensions and multifaceted diversity when assessing elevational patterns of bird diversity. This study also provides valuable insights into the structuring mechanisms of bird communities and informs conservation planning along elevational gradients in HBSM, and offers a comprehensive case on species richness along elevational gradients.

Exploring the Drivers Influencing Multidimensional Alpha and Beta Diversity of Macroinvertebrates in Mountain Streams

Understanding the driving mechanisms of diversity across multiple dimensions is a fundamental task in biodiversity conservation. Here, we examined the alpha and beta diversity of macroinvertebrates in the taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic dimensions in mountain streams of northwestern Hubei Province, China. We also assessed how much local environmental, land use, climatic, and spatial variables affected these diversities. We found that (1) there were generally weak or no correlations of alpha and beta diversity between taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic dimensions; (2) compared to both functional and phylogenetic beta diversity, which was mainly determined by nestedness, taxonomic beta diversity was mostly molded by turnover and was much higher; and (3) local environmental variables predominantly influenced taxonomic and functional dimensions of alpha and beta diversity, while spatial factors primarily drove phylogenetic dimension. These results suggest that regulating local habitats is crucial for lotic biodiversity conservation efforts, though spatial processes cannot be overlooked. Furthermore, our findings verify the supplemental role of functional and phylogenetic data in enriching insights provided by taxonomic data alone. This underscores the importance of a multidimensional approach for a more nuanced understanding of community assembly mechanisms, which is crucial for efficient ecosystem management and biodiversity conservation.

Meeting Linnean, Wallacean, and Darwinian shortfalls in global biodiversity hotspots: A model study from the Indian Himalayan Region

AbstractDespite recent efforts to make large‐scale biodiversity datasets available, several data shortfalls still exist that preclude our progress in achieving global conservation and sustainability goals. In this study, we present a comprehensive native tree dataset (1689 species) from the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR)—home to two global biodiversity hotspots—assembled from an extensive data synthesis. Based on this database, we investigate the geographic patterns and drivers of α‐ and β‐taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity of the native trees among 13 different provinces of IHR. Our results revealed a considerable variation in the α‐ and β‐taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity among the provinces of IHR, with the highest values in eastern provinces. We found phylogenetic clustering mostly in the western provinces, and phylogenetic dispersion in the eastern provinces. We found a positive correlation between the taxonomic and phylogenetic dissimilarity across the IHR. Also, the different sets of explanatory variables explained the variation of tree species richness, standardized effect size of phylogenetic diversity, net relatedness index, and nearest taxon index, with maximum contribution by temperature seasonality (Bio4). Furthermore, temperature‐related climatic distance individually explained most of the variation in the taxonomic and phylogenetic dissimilarity between the provinces of IHR. Overall, our findings unveil the patterns of taxonomic, biogeographic, and phylogenetic dimensions of tree flora in the IHR, which in turn can help in formulating scientific data‐based regional policy and conservation strategies. Looking forward, we presented a model study for bridging the Linnean, Wallacean, and Darwinian shortfalls in the globally data‐deficient biodiversity‐rich regions.

Hydrology and water quality drive multiple biological indicators in a dam-modified large river

Freshwater biodiversity is increasingly threatened by dams and many other anthropogenic stressors, yet our understanding of the complex responses of different biotas and their multiple facets remains limited. Here, we present a multi-faceted and integrated-indices approach to assess the differential responses of freshwater biodiversity to multiple stressors in the Yangtze River, the third longest and most dam-densely river in the world. By combining individual biodiversity indices of phytoplankton, zooplankton, periphyton, macroinvertebrates, and fish with a novel integrated aquatic biodiversity index (IABI), we disentangled the effects of hydrology, water quality, land use, and natural factors on both α and β diversity facets in taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic dimensions. Our results revealed that phytoplankton and fish species and functional richness increased longitudinally, while fish taxonomic and phylogenetic β diversity increased but phytoplankton and macroinvertebrate β diversity remained unchanged. Hydrology and water quality emerged as the key drivers of all individual biodiversity indices, followed by land use and natural factors, with fish and phytoplankton showed the strongest responses. Importantly, we found that natural, land use, and hydrological factors indirectly affected biodiversity by altering water quality, which in turn directly influenced taxonomic and phylogenetic IABIs. Our findings highlight the complex interplay of multiple stressors in shaping freshwater biodiversity and underscore the importance of considering both individual and integrated indices for effective conservation and management. We propose that our multi-faceted and integrated-indices approach can be applied to other large, dam-modified river basins globally.

Climate-driven environmental filtering determines hump-shaped elevational pattern of seed plant beta diversity in the central Himalayas

Understanding how and why assemblage dissimilarity changes along spatial gradient is a great challenge in ecology, because answers to these questions depend on the analytical types, dimensions, and components of beta diversity we concerned. To obtain a comprehensive understanding of assemblage dissimilarity and its implications for biodiversity conservation in the Himalayas, we explored the elevational patterns and determinants of beta diversity and its turnover and nestedness components of pairwise and multiple types and taxonomic and phylogenetic dimensions simultaneously. Patterns of beta diversity and their components of different types and dimensions were calculated based on 96 sampling quadrats along an 1800−5400 m elevational gradient. We examined whether and how these patterns differed from random expectations using null models. Furthermore, we used random forest methods to quantify the role of environmental variables representing climate, topography, and human disturbance in determining these patterns. We found that beta diversity and its turnover component, regardless of its types and dimensions, shown a hump-shaped elevational patterns. Both pairwise and multiple phylogenetic beta diversity were remarkably lower than their taxonomic counterpart. These patterns were significantly less than random expectation and were mostly associated with climate variables. In summary, our results suggested that assemblage dissimilarity of seed plants was mostly originate from the replacement of closely related species determined by climate-driven environmental filtering. Accordingly, conservation efforts should better cover elevations with different climate types to maximalize biodiversity conservation, rather than only focus on elevations with highest species richness. Our study demonstrated that comparisons of beta diversity of different types, dimensions, and components could be conductive to consensus on the origin and mechanism of assemblage dissimilarity.

Time since fire as a driver of taxonomic and phylogenetic patterns of grassland plant communities

Fire plays a key role in grasslands, determining the distribution and evolution of species and boundaries with neighboring ecosystems. Evidence of community-wide responses to fire is largely based on taxonomic and functional descriptors, while the phylogenetic dimension is overlooked. Here we evaluated how the taxonomic and phylogenetic structure of grassland plant communities responded to a time since fire (TSF) gradient. We sampled 12 communities in Southern Brazil under varying TSF and calculated taxonomic species richness (S) and dominance (D), phylogenetic diversity (PD), and mean phylogenetic distances (MPD). We used Structural Equation Models to test the relationships between the environmental gradient and community descriptors. Communities with longer TSF presented higher PD and MPD but lower species richness and increased taxonomic dominance. These sites were dominated by monocots, specifically C4 grasses, but also presented exclusive clades, whereas recently-burned sites presented lower taxonomic dominance and more species distributed in a wider variety of clades. Our results indicate that these scenarios are interchangeable and dependent on fire management. Fire adaptation was not constrained by phylogenetic relatedness, contrasting with previous findings for tropical savannahs and indicating that temperate and tropical non-forest ecosystems from South America respond differently to fire, possibly due to different evolutionary histories.

Areal and phylogenetic dimensions of word order variation in Indo-European languages

Abstract Both areal and phylogenetic affiliation have been discussed as driving factors of the distribution of word order in the languages of the world. However, disentangling the interaction of these two factors is challenging. Here we take Indo-European as a test case. Word order in this family is largely homogeneous both within areas and within branches, which makes it difficult to assess which factor was more important in shaping the present-day distribution. To break out of this impasse we turn to corpus data and explicit statistical modeling. Building on a parallel corpus of movie subtitles, we investigate word order on the sentence level under stable pragmatic conditions. We measure the similarity of word order variation between pairs of languages with an information-theoretic distance metric. Using cluster analysis and variation partitioning methods these distance metrics show that phylogenetic distance predicts more variation than geographical distance, but the most important predictor is the shared fraction where phylogeny and area overlap. We conclude that word order has evolved along both dimensions and cannot be reduced to a single one.

Two decades of increasing functional and phylogenetic richness in a mountaintop flora in central Norway

AbstractQuestionsAnalysing how multiple facets of biodiversity vary across space and time can help to predict the vulnerability of mountaintop floras to future environmental changes. Here we addressed the following questions: (a) Are elevational patterns of mountaintop plant diversity consistent across taxonomy, function and phylogeny? (b) How have the taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic dimensions of mountaintop plant communities changed over the past two decades? (c) Is the magnitude of these temporal trends dependent on elevation?LocationDovrefjell, central Norway.MethodsThe floristic composition of four mountaintops, spread across an elevational gradient from the tree line to the uppermost margins of vascular plant life, was surveyed every 7 years between 2001 and 2022. Six metrics of taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic richness and differentiation were calculated for each mountaintop and survey. Using these data, we assessed how richness and differentiation metrics varied over space (across the elevational gradient) and over time (between surveys).ResultsAll diversity metrics decreased towards higher elevations, except phylogenetic differentiation which increased significantly by 7% per 100 m elevational gain. Taxonomic richness remained virtually stable between 2001 and 2022, whereas phylogenetic richness increased by 7.5% per decade. Functional richness also increased, but mainly on the lowest mountaintop, by 17% per decade. No significant temporal trends in taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic differentiation were detected.ConclusionsOur findings underpin rearrangements in the functional and phylogenetic structure of mountain plant communities over the past two decades that cannot be predicted from trends in taxonomic richness alone. This highlights the necessity to look beyond species richness and consider multiple facets of biodiversity when studying environmental change impacts on mountain biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.

Unravelling the functional and phylogenetic dimensions of novel ecosystem assemblages.

Human activities are causing taxonomic rearrangements across ecosystems that often result in the emergence of novel communities (assemblies with no historical representative). It is commonly assumed that these changes in the taxonomic makeup of ecosystems also inevitably lead to changes in other aspects of biodiversity, namely functional and phylogenetic diversity. However, this assumption is not always valid, as the changes in functional and phylogenetic composition resulting from taxonomic shifts depend on the level of redundancy in the evaluated community. Therefore, we need improved theoretical frameworks to predict when we can expect coordinated or decoupled responses among these three facets of biodiversity. To advance this understanding, we discuss the conceptual and methodological issues that complicate establishing a link between taxonomic rearrangements driven by human activities and the associated functional and phylogenetic changes. Here, we show that is crucial to consider the expected changes in functional and phylogenetic composition as communities are reshaped owing to human drivers of biodiversity loss to forecast the impacts of novel assemblages on ecosystem functions and the services they provide to humanity. This article is part of the theme issue 'Ecological novelty and planetary stewardship: biodiversity dynamics in a transforming biosphere'.

Advancing fish diversity monitor in degraded marine ecosystem with environmental DNA approach: Unveiling hidden riches

Comprehending fish diversity through multiple dimensions is a crucial aspect in advancing our understanding of fish populations and promoting sustainable fisheries as well as diversity conservation. Traditional research on fish diversity has been limited to non-genetic methods. The advent of environmental DNA (eDNA) technology enables simultaneous examination of both non-genetic and genetic aspects of fish diversity. In this study, we evaluated the ability of eDNA to capture multidimensional fish diversity in the northern South China Sea, with emphasis on phylogenetic diversity. The effect of environmental change and geographical location on multidimensional fish diversity across different seasons was also investigated. The analysis of species accumulation curves revealed that the observed species richness approached an asymptote, achieving 94.7% and 89.5% of the predicted values during the summer and winter, respectively. Alpha diversity of taxonomic (species, 225 vs. species, 102), functional (FRic, 0.51 vs. FRic, 0.19), and phylogenetic (PD, 26.27 vs. PD, 15.81) dimensions were found to be higher in summer compared to winter, with environmental factors significantly influencing these diversities across seasons. Regarding the three dimensions of beta diversity, replacement made a greater relative contribution to total taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic beta diversity than richness difference. These effects were primarily influenced by water environment factors (e.g., NO2−, SiO32−, surface temperature) during the summer and geographical factors (e.g., longitude and latitude) during the winter. This study provides evidence supporting the feasibility of utilizing eDNA techniques to uncover fish diversity in multiple dimensions, with a specific emphasis on its intrinsic genetic characteristics, which hold substantial value for the protection of diversity and the scientific administration of fishery resources.

Temporal variations of the multifaceted biodiversity and assembly mechanisms in lake fish assemblages

AbstractUnderstanding long‐term changes in fish diversity and community assembly rules is crucial for freshwater conservation. Growing evidence indicates that studying functional and phylogenetic diversity beyond purely taxonomic considerations can provide different but complementary information on community assembly. Here, the taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic β‐diversity of fish communities, as well as the community assembly mechanisms, were explored in five impounded lakes of the China's South‐to‐North Water Diversion Project (SNWDP) from the 1980s to the 2010s. We found that (1) there was an obvious trend of species homogenization in the five impounded lakes, but the long‐term transformations of different dimensional β‐diversity were divergent; (2) water quality and land use variables have greater impacts on multidimensional β‐diversity; and (3) community assembly process in taxonomic and functional dimensions were dominated by random process in both periods, while shifting from limiting similarity to habitat filtering in the phylogenetic dimension. These results highlight that functional and phylogenetic diversity are important additional ecological indices for assessing the patterns of fish diversity in lakes.

Multidimensional beta-diversity across local and regional scales in a Chinese subtropical forest: The role of forest structure.

Beta-diversity, or the spatio-temporal variation in community composition, can be partitioned into turnover and nestedness components in a multidimensional framework. Forest structure, including comprehensive characteristics of vertical and horizontal complexity, strongly affects species composition and its spatial variation. However, the effects of forest structure on beta-diversity patterns in multidimensional and multiple-scale contexts are poorly understood. Here, we assessed beta-diversity at local (a 20-ha forest dynamics plot) and regional (a plot network composed of 19 1-ha plots) scales in a Chinese subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest. We then evaluated the relative importance of forest structure, topography, and spatial structure on beta-diversity and its turnover and nestedness components in taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic dimensions at local and regional scales. We derived forest structural parameters from both unmanned aerial vehicle light detection and ranging (UAV LiDAR) data and plot inventory data. Turnover component dominated total beta-diversity for all dimensions at the two scales. With the exception of some components (taxonomic and functional turnover at the local scale; functional nestedness at the regional scale), environmental factors (i.e., topography and forest structure) contributed more than pure spatial variation. Explanations of forest structure for beta-diversity and its component patterns at the local scale were higher than those at the regional scale. The joint effects of spatial structure and forest structure influenced component patterns in all dimensions (except for functional turnover) to some extent at the local scale, while pure forest structure influenced taxonomic and phylogenetic nestedness patterns to some extent at the regional scale. Our results highlight the importance and scale dependence of forest structure in shaping multidimensional beta-diversity and its component patterns. Clearly, further studies need to link forest structure directly to ecological processes (e.g., asymmetric light competition and disturbance dynamics) and explore its roles in biodiversity maintenance.

Global patterns and mechanisms shaping dimensionality diversity in sharks

An adequate description of biodiversity patterns requires an integration of different biological dimensions, including phylogenetic, functional, and taxonomic patterns. In this sense, dimensionality is defined as the number of complementary dimensions represented by metrics necessary to describe diversity in a non-redundant and effective way, with a correlation component (Evenness of Eigenvalues- EE) and the variation component (Importance Values- IV). Here we describe the dimensionality of global diversity patterns for sharks, based on several metrics of taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic dimensions and the spatial patterns in dimensionality across marine biogeographic realms. We also investigated the relationship between dimensionality and emergent characteristics of each realm, including total richness, body size, area, latitude, and environmental dimensionality. Realm area and latitude were important ecological predictors of the dimensionality correlation component in realms. Phylogenetic diversity was the metric that contributed most to variation in the fundamental space of biodiversity, globally and within realms, highlighting the importance of evolutionary history in structuring shark communities. This is the first work on the diversity dimensionality of sharks, revealing important diversity patterns of the taxon and potential biological and ecological mechanisms related to the phenomenon of dimensionality.

Global patterns of phylogenetic beta‐diversity components in angiosperms

AbstractQuestionsGeographic gradients of beta‐diversity help understanding the relationship between species and their environment. However, on a global scale, such patterns are only known for a few taxa, mainly terrestrial vertebrates, especially when considering the phylogenetic dimension. Here, we present the first global analysis of phylogenetic beta‐diversity (PBD) for angiosperms. We aim to disentangle the relative contribution of PBD components (turnover‐ and nestedness‐resultant differences) and the deviation of PBD given the taxonomic beta‐diversity (TBD) along environmental and geographic gradients.LocationGlobal.MethodsWe compiled range maps of 207,146 angiosperm species at 1° cells and calculated PBD for assemblages formed by each focal cell and its neighboring cells in radii of 1.5° and 2° (“moving‐window” approach). PBD was decomposed into turnover‐ and nestedness‐resultant components, evaluating their relative importance as the proportion of nestedness‐resultant PBD to the total PBD (PBDratio). To evaluate lineage exchanges, we calculated the deviation of PBD from TBD (PBDdev). We assessed the breakpoints of relationship between PBD and geographic (latitude and elevation) and environmental (temperature and precipitation) gradients using linear piecewise regressions.ResultsThe turnover‐resultant component was predominant in shaping the global angiosperm PBD pattern. PBDratio was positively correlated with temperature, having a breakpoint around 14°. Because PBDdev was mostly positive, TBD prevailed over PBD; PBDdev was correlated significantly with latitude and temperature gradients, being higher (i.e., low lineage replacement compared with species replacement) at latitudes above 50° N, and in colder climates (below 2°C).ConclusionsWe provided the first global assessment of current geographic PBD patterns for angiosperms. Our results showed that such patterns are largely dictated by global environmental and geographic gradients, with lineage replacement being more important than lineage loss in virtually all areas, except at higher latitudes and on islands and peninsulas.

Evolutionary history shapes grassland productivity through opposing effects on complementarity and selection.

Phylogenetic diversity (PD), the evolutionary history of the organisms comprising a community, is increasingly recognized as an important driver of ecosystem function. However, biodiversity-ecosystem function experiments have rarely included PD as an a priori treatment. Thus, PD's effects in existing experiments are often confounded by covarying differences in species richness and functional trait diversity (FD). Here we report an experimental demonstration of strong PD effects on grassland primary productivity that are independent of FD, which was separately manipulated, and species richness, which was planted uniformly high to mimic diverse natural grasslands. Partitioning diversity effects demonstrated that higher PD increased complementarity (niche partitioning and/or facilitation) but lowered selection effects (probability of sampling highly productive species). Specifically, for every 5% increase in PD, complementarity increased by 26% on average (±8% SE), while selection effects decreased more modestly (8 ± 16%). PD also shaped productivity through clade-level effects on functional traits, that is, trait values associated with particular plant families. This clade effect was most pronounced in the Asteraceae (sunflower family), which, in tallgrass prairies, generally comprises tall, high-biomass species with low phylogenetic distinctiveness. FD also reduced selection effects but did not alter complementarity. Our results show that PD, independent of richness and FD, mediates ecosystem function through contrasting effects on complementarity and selection. This adds to growing evidence that consideration of phylogenetic dimensions of biodiversity can advance ecological understanding and inform conservation and restoration.

Taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of primate communities in Ecuador

One of the fundamental objectives of ecology is to study the relative importance of ecological, evolutionary, and stochastic processes in determining local community structure. Many studies have focused on taxonomic diversity, paying relatively little attention to other dimensions of biological diversity, such as phylogenetic and functional diversity. Little is known about how these dimensions relate to each other, and the ecological processes that influence their variation. In this study, we characterize these three dimensions of biodiversity in 14 primate communities from different ecosystems in Ecuador to understand possible mechanisms responsible for their assembly. Results show that coastal communities are taxonomically less diverse than those from the Amazon and present different functional groups. On the other hand, phylogenetic diversity is higher in Amazonian communities, showing a tendency for overdispersion (high values of MPDPD = mean phylogenetic distance per pair and low PSC = degree to which coexisting species are related). This indicates a possible influence of biological factors, such as competition, on community assembly. For all three dimensions, climatic variables were the most significant predictors of community structure, while vertical forest structure contributed significantly to variation in the phylogenetic dimension. The high functional diversity reported in this study highlights the importance and vulnerability of this group and the ecosystems they inhabit. Macroecological studies, such as the one presented here, allow a better understanding of community structure and provide important information for the development of conservation strategies.

Assessing spatial and temporal changes in diversity of copepod crustaceans: a key step for biodiversity conservation in groundwater-fed springs

Despite the close attention springs have received from a hydrologic perspective and as biodiversity hotspots, the multiple dimensions of spring meiofaunal assemblage diversity are still poorly investigated. Knowledge of beta diversity patterns and drivers can inform and improve management decisions on biodiversity conservation. Here, we analyzed beta diversity of copepod assemblages in karst springs in Central Italy by focusing on: 1) relative contributions of turnover and nestedness components to taxonomic and phylogenetic beta diversity; 2) temporal variation of species richness and beta diversity within and between the target springs in conjunction with models of the influence of physical-chemical parameters on within-spring diversity changes; 3) expected risk of habitat loss due to variation in groundwater recharge under climate change. To this end, we gathered data from 168 samples collected in four karst springs from 2004 to 2016. Overall, we found 48 copepod species, 22 of which are obligate groundwater dwellers while the remaining 26 usually occur in surface freshwaters. All springs showed significant changes in taxonomic and phylogenetic beta diversity over time. Total beta diversity was high for both the taxonomic and phylogenetic dimensions, and turnover was the main component. Inter-site variability in dissolved oxygen explained a noticeable part of temporal variation in beta diversity, likely reflecting the role of microhabitat heterogeneity in shaping site-specific assemblages. However, most of the temporal variation in species richness and beta diversity remained unexplained, suggesting a major role of other factors, such as seasonal discharge variations. Modelling of recharge rates for all the four springs over 2001–2020 suggested a potential >40% recharge deficit under dry conditions. Moreover, Cellular Automata-based modelling of rainfall over the Gran Sasso-Sirente hydrogeologic unit (feeding three of the four springs) predicted an overall precipitation decrease in the 2081–2095 period. Such changes could produce severe effects on springs’ microhabitats and related communities. Our results indicate that partitioning beta diversity, monitoring its temporal changes and assessing its environmental drivers are critical to evidence-based conservation of springs. Particularly, the high species turnover we have observed suggests that conservation strategies should seek to preserve as many microhabitats as possible within and among karst springs.

Spatio-temporal variation in avian taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity and its relevance for conservation in a wetland ecosystem in Myanmar

Wetland ecosystems host an extensive number of avian species and play therefore a key role in biodiversity conservation. However, avifauna in wetlands is severely impacted by the anthropogenic transformation of natural habitats into other land uses. Understanding how habitat changes influence avian community dynamics is crucial for effective management and conservation of bird habitats. Here, we assessed spatio-temporal variation in taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity, and assembly structures of the bird community in the Indawgyi Wetland Ecosystem in Myanmar. Bird surveys were seasonally conducted at 120 sample plots, which were equally distributed among four habitat types subject to different level of human influences (natural lake habitat, seasonally flooded grasslands, riparian forest, and agricultural land). Across habitat types, functional and phylogenetic diversity were the highest in the lake habitat, especially during the migration season, and the lowest in the cultivated habitat. Our results indicated over-dispersed functional and phylogenetic structures in the lake habitat, with clustered structures in the remaining habitats. Diversity of species important for conservation was also higher in the lake habitat and in areas far away from human disturbances. Spatial variation of bird community diversity suggests that conservation efforts in this ecosystem should concentrate more on the lake habitat and associated grassland habitats. Moreover, our results suggest the need for habitat restoration in riparian forests and increased sustainable agricultural practices in order to improve the contribution of these habitats to the diversity in the avifauna community. Our study highlighted the importance of integrating functional and phylogenetic dimensions into biodiversity analyses providing broader ecological insights for conservation.

Ontogenetyczny i filogenetyczny wymiar zmian językowych w zakresie gramatyki

ONTOGENETIC AND PHYLOGENETIC DIMENSIONS OF LANGUAGE CHANGE IN GRAMMAR This paper discusses selected aspects of the theory of linguistic change in grammar. The main assumption is the claim that the development of the categorial functions of natural languages throughout the time (phylogenesis) mostly coincides with the stadiums of the acquisition of the same categories by an individual (ontogenesis). Using the examples of the development and acquisition of strong and weak verb forms in Germanic languages and the categorial links between aspectuality, temporality and modality of the verb, different stages that characterise the linguistic changes in question are analysed in comparison with the stages of their acquisition in the process of language acquisition among children between 2 and 14 years of age. The analysis proves that the connections between ontogenesis and phylogenesis are complex, so they cannot be always explained in a simple and definite manner. The change in either sphere has its own specific features and runs mutatis mutandis in both spheres.

Beyond species loss: How anthropogenic disturbances drive functional and phylogenetic homogenization of Neotropical dung beetles

Anthropogenic activities drive tropical forest loss and biodiversity decay. However, few studies have addressed how the biodiversity response varies between disturbance-adapted species (i.e., winners) and those highly susceptible to disturbance (i.e., losers), or whether such responses differ between the taxonomic, functional, or phylogenetic dimensions of diversity. Understanding these dynamics can help prevent or buffer biotic homogenization processes. Using a meta-analytical approach with dung beetles as model organisms, we evaluated how anthropogenic habitat disturbances influence the multiple diversity dimensions of winner and loser species relative to conserved forest sites in the Neotropics. Habitats were organized according to a disturbance gradient ranging from second-growth forests, shaded agroforestry, lowly-shaded agroforestry, living fences, and pastures. Our database included 30 studies, from which we calculated nine metrics divided into three alfa diversity aspects: richness, evenness, and divergence. We also evaluated the beta-diversity response to disturbance and forest protection. All dimensions of dung beetle diversity decreased significantly with increasing disturbance levels, with phylogenetic diversity showing the highest losses, whereas evenness metrics increased in second-growth forests and agroforestry systems. Loser dung beetles showed high diversity loss as well as functional and phylogenetic clustering, reflecting a pervasive biotic homogenization in the most severely disturbed habitats, whereas winner species were insensitive to anthropogenic disturbances. Beta diversity increased significantly with disturbance and forest protection. Our study showed that heavy disturbances erode and homogenized all diversity dimensions of loser dung beetles. However, second-growth forests and agroforestry systems mitigated diversity loss and homogenization processes by favoring the coexistence between functional and phylogenetically distant species and maintaining assemblages compositionally similar to those in conserved forests, highlighting their importance for conservation. We encourage natural resource managers to consider protection of disturbed off-reserve forests in management schemes as these are essential for maintaining biodiversity in an increasingly anthropized world.