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Non‐native species led to marked shifts in functional diversity of the world freshwater fish faunas
Author(s) -
Toussaint Aurèle,
Charpin Nicolas,
Beauchard Olivier,
Grenouillet Gaël,
Oberdorff Thierry,
Tedesco Pablo A.,
Brosse Sébastien,
Villéger Sébastien
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
ecology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.852
H-Index - 265
eISSN - 1461-0248
pISSN - 1461-023X
DOI - 10.1111/ele.13141
Subject(s) - species richness , ecology , biodiversity , functional diversity , biology , fauna , gamma diversity , ecosystem , introduced species , beta diversity
Global spread of non‐native species profoundly changed the world biodiversity patterns, but how it translates into functional changes remains unanswered at the world scale. We here show that while in two centuries the number of fish species per river increased on average by 15% in 1569 basins worldwide, the diversity of their functional attributes (i.e. functional richness) increased on average by 150%. The inflation of functional richness was paired with changes in the functional structure of assemblages, with shifts of species position toward the border of the functional space of assemblages (i.e. increased functional divergence). Non‐native species moreover caused shifts in functional identity toward higher body sized and less elongated species for most of assemblages throughout the world. Although varying between rivers and biogeographic realms, such changes in the different facets of functional diversity might still increase in the future through increasing species invasion and may further modify ecosystem functioning.