Taxonomic distinctness of demersal fishes of the California current: moving beyond simple measures of diversity for marine ecosystem-based management.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Large-scale patterns or trends in species diversity have long interested ecologists. The classic pattern is for diversity (e.g., species richness) to decrease with increasing latitude. Taxonomic distinctness is a diversity measure based on the relatedness of the species within a sample. Here we examined patterns of taxonomic distinctness in relation to latitude (ca. 32-48 degrees N) and depth (ca. 50-1220 m) for demersal fishes on the continental shelf and slope of the US Pacific coast.

Methodology/principal findings

Both average taxonomic distinctness (AvTD) and variation in taxonomic distinctness (VarTD) changed with latitude and depth. AvTD was highest at approximately 500 m and lowest at around 200 m bottom depth. Latitudinal trends in AvTD were somewhat weake

SUBMITTER: Tolimieri N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2871800 | biostudies-literature | 2010 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature