Cross-continental analysis of coastal biodiversity change

Author:

Rishworth Gavin M.12ORCID,Adams Janine B.1ORCID,Bird Matthew S.3ORCID,Carrasco Nicola K.4,Dänhardt Andreas5,Dannheim Jennifer67ORCID,Lemley Daniel A.1ORCID,Pistorius Pierre A.2ORCID,Scheiffarth Gregor5,Hillebrand Helmut678ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Institute for Coastal and Marine Research, Department of Botany, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth 6031, South Africa

2. Department of Zoology, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth 6031, South Africa

3. Department of Zoology, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, Johannesburg 2006, South Africa

4. School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4000, South Africa

5. Lower Saxon Wadden Sea National Park Authority, Virchowstr. 1 26382 Wilhelmshaven, Germany

6. Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12 D-27570 Bremerhaven, Germany

7. Helmholtz-Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg [HIFMB], Ammerländer Heerstrasse 231 26129 Oldenbburg, Germany

8. Institute for Chemistry and Biology of Marine Environments [ICBM], Carl-von-Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Schleusenstrasse 1 D-26382 Wilhelmshaven, Germany

Abstract

Whereas the anthropogenic impact on marine biodiversity is undebated, the quantification and prediction of this change are not trivial. Simple traditional measures of biodiversity (e.g. richness, diversity indices) do not capture the magnitude and direction of changes in species or functional composition. In this paper, we apply recently developed methods for measuring biodiversity turnover to time-series data of four broad taxonomic groups from two coastal regions: the southern North Sea (Germany) and the South African coast. Both areas share geomorphological features and ecosystem types, allowing for a critical assessment of the most informative metrics of biodiversity change across organism groups. We found little evidence for directional trends in univariate metrics of diversity for either the effective number of taxa or the amount of richness change. However, turnover in composition was high (on average nearly 30% of identities when addressing presence or absence of species) and even higher when taking the relative dominance of species into account. This turnover accumulated over time at similar rates across regions and organism groups. We conclude that biodiversity metrics responsive to turnover provide a more accurate reflection of community change relative to conventional metrics (absolute richness or relative abundance) and are spatially broadly applicable. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Integrative research perspectives on marine conservation’.

Funder

Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kultur

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

Publisher

The Royal Society

Subject

General Agricultural and Biological Sciences,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Reference70 articles.

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