Reposted by: Carlos P. Carmona, Meelis Pärtel
Working with individual trait data and functional trait spaces and bored about means?
With @cpcarmona.bsky.social, Agnese Bissi and @etordoni.bsky.social, we put together a perspective to test the effect of individual observations on trait space properties 👇👇
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
With @cpcarmona.bsky.social, Agnese Bissi and @etordoni.bsky.social, we put together a perspective to test the effect of individual observations on trait space properties 👇👇
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Quantifying the influence of intraspecific variability in trait spaces - npj Biodiversity
npj Biodiversity - Quantifying the influence of intraspecific variability in trait spaces
www.nature.com
Reposted by: Carlos P. Carmona, Ben Bond‐Lamberty
✨ Paper spotlight ✨
(🧵 1/6) The path towards a unified trait space: synthesizing plant functional diversity
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
(🧵 1/6) The path towards a unified trait space: synthesizing plant functional diversity
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
New Tansley Insight in New Phytologist: The path toward a unified plant trait space: synthesizing plant functional diversity.
Why a common trait space matters, how to build it, and what it enables.
With @e-beccari.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1111/nph....
#PlantTraits #FunctionalDiversity
Why a common trait space matters, how to build it, and what it enables.
With @e-beccari.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1111/nph....
#PlantTraits #FunctionalDiversity
doi.org
I think I’ll learn more from you than you did from me 😅
Congratulations, Kerry!
Congratulations, Kerry!
Reposted by: Carlos P. Carmona, Joseph A. Tobias
Super happy that @kerrys189.bsky.social passed her viva with no corrections!! 🥳🥳🥳
Congratulations, Dr. Stewart!!
The EcCo lab will miss you, but we know you are off to do amazing things
Thanks to the excellent examiners @alexpigot.bsky.social & @vlboult.bsky.social
Congratulations, Dr. Stewart!!
The EcCo lab will miss you, but we know you are off to do amazing things
Thanks to the excellent examiners @alexpigot.bsky.social & @vlboult.bsky.social
with @stefanomammola.bsky.social, @gracoroza.bsky.social, Gianluigi Ottaviani and Francesco de Bello
Too many metrics, I agree! But accumulation curves make sense only for metrics that have set monotonicity/concavity. Divergence or evenness do not meet those properties, so the z slope loses meaning. We still need to match each metric to the facet we want to study.
2. I think they are fundamentally different aspects; a single number wont suffice. For example, some aspects are related to different aspects of the raw distribution of traits (richness, divergence, evennes), but other aspects require species identities (redundancy). But good luck with the search!
1. Yes, papers should report different indices, carefully chosen so that they are suitable for your question.
I would say that the field nowadays treats those criteria as facet-specific (richness, divergence, evenness) rather than universal.
My main concern is that the paper frames the 14 requirements as must-haves for any reliable FD metric, then counts how many each index meets. That creates the impression that indices are flawed.
So, if functional structure (or functional diversity if you prefer) is a distribution, you cannot simply characterize it with a single number, like you cant characterize a probabilistic distribution only with the mean, or the variance, or the kurtosis
The two aspects of extinction are relevant, so you need to estimate both things simultaneously (among other things) to understand well what is going on with functional structure (the distribution of species in the trait space)
But if what you are losing are redundant species, then divergence indices will increase, which matches their expected behaviour (you end up with communities with fewer but more unique species).
In the scenarios related to extinctions (7-8), you expect functional diversity to decrease. This expectation matches the behaviour of richness indices, which work well.
In your ecosystem scenarios, you test different things. For example in scenarios 2, 3 & 4 you are essentially increasing divergence, and this is well detected by divergence indices, but not by richness indices.
And so on. At the end, you can see from your tests that thare are sets of indices that tend to respond in similar ways (like the two sets I mentioned above). And these are the ways one would expect them to respond according to their original conception.
Indices of functional richness (FaD, mFaD, FD) should be insensitive to addition of redundant species and to changes in abundances, an only change when something modifies the boundaries of the distribution of species in the trait space.
Hi Adji! It was just an example. What I mean is that not all criteria should be fulfilled at once for an index to be useful. For example, dispersion indices (Rao, FDiv, FDis) by definition should not fulfil set monotonicity, because they reflect the average dissimilarity among components (species).
You would not judge a hammer by how well it drives a screw; likewise, do not blame a spread metric for failing a richness test. Functional diversity is multifaceted and needs a toolbox, not a universal index.
You would not judge a hammer by how well it drives a screw; likewise, do not blame a spread metric for failing a richness test. Functional diversity is multifaceted and needs a toolbox, not a universal index.
Reposted by: Carlos P. Carmona
Rethinking Ecological Measures Of Functional Diversity
'none of the widely used metrics satisfy the requirements. Critical flaws leave them blind to the very biodiversity loss they're intended to detect. There's urgent need to develop new generation of FD metrics'
arxiv.org/abs/2506.17839 #ecopubs
'none of the widely used metrics satisfy the requirements. Critical flaws leave them blind to the very biodiversity loss they're intended to detect. There's urgent need to develop new generation of FD metrics'
arxiv.org/abs/2506.17839 #ecopubs
Reposted by: Carlos P. Carmona
Projections of extinctions of bird species and losses of functional diversity over the next 100 years suggest that even immediate and widespread threat abatement would be insufficient to prevent losses www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Threat reduction must be coupled with targeted recovery programmes to conserve global bird diversity - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Projections of extinctions of bird species and losses of functional diversity over the next 100 years suggest that even immediate and widespread threat abatement would be insufficient to prevent losse...
www.nature.com
The other tracks how threat combinations will erode evolutionary and trait diversity of turtles and crocodiles: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Synergistic and Additive Effects of Multiple Threats Erode Phylogenetic and Life History Strategy Diversity in Testudines and Crocodilia
We evaluate how interactions between the most common threats reduce the life history strategy diversity and phylogenetic diversity in Testudines and Crocodilia. Most threat interactions are antagonis...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
One shows why trimming pressures and backing the most unique birds must go together: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Another amazing work by @kerrys189.bsky.social, with @mgs-cielo-azul.bsky.social @josephtobias.bsky.social htobias.bsky.social, @expecocons.bsky.social ons.bsky.social, and others
Another amazing work by @kerrys189.bsky.social, with @mgs-cielo-azul.bsky.social @josephtobias.bsky.social htobias.bsky.social, @expecocons.bsky.social ons.bsky.social, and others
Threat reduction must be coupled with targeted recovery programmes to conserve global bird diversity - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Projections of extinctions of bird species and losses of functional diversity over the next 100 years suggest that even immediate and widespread threat abatement would be insufficient to prevent losse...
www.nature.com
Reposted by: Carlos P. Carmona
“Abatement of ‘habitat loss and degradation’ made greatest contribution to avoided species extinctions and functional diversity loss .. If human activity affects biodiversity as today, then in next 100 years, lose >3x number of bird species as lost since 1500.” www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Threat reduction must be coupled with targeted recovery programmes to conserve global bird diversity - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Projections of extinctions of bird species and losses of functional diversity over the next 100 years suggest that even immediate and widespread threat abatement would be insufficient to prevent losse...
www.nature.com
by Joseph A. Tobias — Reposted by: Carlos P. Carmona
🚨 Behold a second impressive paper from @kerrys189.bsky.social to celebrate her just-finished PhD. A rising 🌟!
This study examines AVONET data to show how even threat abatement leaves large areas of avian functional diversity at risk, and in need of targeted management.
🧪🌐🪶
This study examines AVONET data to show how even threat abatement leaves large areas of avian functional diversity at risk, and in need of targeted management.
🧪🌐🪶
Kerry Stewart
@kerrys189.bsky.social
· Jun 24
Threat reduction must be coupled with targeted recovery programmes to conserve global bird diversity - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Projections of extinctions of bird species and losses of functional diversity over the next 100 years suggest that even immediate and widespread threat abatement would be insufficient to prevent losse...
www.nature.com
Reposted by: Carlos P. Carmona, Joseph A. Tobias
New paper!
"Threat reduction must be coupled with targeted recovery programmes to conserve global bird diversity" www.nature.com/articles/s41....
Great working with @mgs-cielo-azul.bsky.social, @josephtobias.bsky.social, @cpcarmona.bsky.social, @expecocons.bsky.social, Chris Venditti and Jo Baker.
"Threat reduction must be coupled with targeted recovery programmes to conserve global bird diversity" www.nature.com/articles/s41....
Great working with @mgs-cielo-azul.bsky.social, @josephtobias.bsky.social, @cpcarmona.bsky.social, @expecocons.bsky.social, Chris Venditti and Jo Baker.
Threat reduction must be coupled with targeted recovery programmes to conserve global bird diversity - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Projections of extinctions of bird species and losses of functional diversity over the next 100 years suggest that even immediate and widespread threat abatement would be insufficient to prevent losse...
www.nature.com