Functional over-redundancy and high functional vulnerability in global fish faunas on tropical reefs.

ABSTRACT: When tropical systems lose species, they are often assumed to be buffered against declines in functional diversity by the ability of the species-rich biota to display high functional redundancy: i.e., a high number of species performing similar functions. We tested this hypothesis using a ninefold richness gradient in global fish faunas on tropical reefs encompassing 6,316 species distributed among 646 functional entities (FEs): i.e., unique combinations of functional traits. We found that the highest functional redundancy is located in the Central Indo-Pacific with a mean of 7.9 species per FE. However, this overall level of redundancy is disproportionately packed into few FEs, a pattern termed functional over-redundancy (FOR). For instance, the most speciose FE in the Central Indo-Pacifi

SUBMITTER: Mouillot D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4183327 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature