10 documents found, page 1 of 1
BioTIME: A database of biodiversity time series for the Anthropocene
Dornelas, Maria; Antão, Laura H.; Moyes, Faye; Bates, Amanda E.; Magurran, Anne E.; Adam, Dušan; Akhmetzhanova, Asem A.; Appeltans, WardMotivation The BioTIME database contains raw data on species identities and abundances in ecological assemblages through time. These data enable users to calculate temporal trends in biodiversity within and amongst assemblages using a broad range of metrics. BioTIME is being developed as a community-led open-source database of biodiversity time series. Our goal is to accelerate and facilitate quantitative analy...
Spillover effects of a community-managed marine reserve
da Silva, Isabel Marques; Hill, Nick; Shimadzu, Hideyasu; Soares, Amadeu M. V. M.; Dornelas, MariaThe value of no-take marine reserves as fisheries-management tools is controversial, particularly in high-poverty areas where human populations depend heavily on fish as a source of protein. Spillover, the net export of adult fish, is one mechanism by which no-take marine reserves may have a positive influence on adjacent fisheries. Spillover can contribute to poverty alleviation, although its effect is modulat...
Interspecific synchrony of seabird population growth rate and breeding success
Robinson, James P. W.; Dornelas, Maria; Ojanguren, Alfredo F.Environmental variability can destabilize communities by causing correlated interspecific fluctuations that weaken the portfolio effect, yet evidence of such a mechanism is rare in natural systems. Here, we ask whether the population dynamics of similar sympatric species of a seabird breeding community are synchronized, and if these species have similar exceptional responses to environmental variation. We used ...
Diversity is maintained by seasonal variation in species abundance
Shimadzu, Hideyasu; Dornelas, Maria; Henderson, Peter A.; Magurran, Anne E.BACKGROUND: Some of the most marked temporal fluctuations in species abundances are linked to seasons. In theory, multispecies assemblages can persist if species use shared resources at different times, thereby minimizing interspecific competition. However, there is scant empirical evidence supporting these predictions and, to the best of our knowledge, seasonal variation has never been explored in the context ...
Quantifying temporal change in biodiversity: challenges and opportunities
Dornelas, Maria; Magurran, Anne E.; Buckland, Stephen T.; Chao, Anne; Chazdon, Robin L.; Colwell, Robert K.; Curtis, Tom; Gaston, Kevin J.Growing concern about biodiversity loss underscores the need to quantify and understand temporal change. Here, we review the opportunities presented by biodiversity time series, and address three related issues: (i) recognizing the characteristics of temporal data; (ii) selecting appropriate statistical procedures for analysing temporal data; and (iii) inferring and forecasting biodiversity change. With regard ...
Fitness consequences of female multiple mating: a direct test of indirect benefits
Barbosa, Miguel; Connolly, Sean R.; Hisano, Mizue; Dornelas, Maria; Magurran, Anne E.The observation that females mate multiply when males provide nothing but sperm - which sexual selection theory suggests is unlikely to be limiting - continues to puzzle evolutionary biologists. Here we test the hypothesis that multiple mating is prevalent under such circumstances because it enhances female fitness. We do this by allowing female Trinidadian guppies to mate with either a single male or with mult...
From microbes to people: tractable benefits of no-take areas for coral reefs
Graham, Nicholas A. J.; Ainsworth, Tracy D.; Baird, Andrew H.; Ban, Natalie C.; Bay, Line K.; Cinner, Joshua E.; Freitas, Debora M. deThe number of no-take marine protected areas (here referred to as no-take areas, NTAs) on coral reefs has increased considerably in recent decades. Coincident with accelerating degradation of coral reefs, expectations of the benefits that NTAs can provide for coastal societies and sustainability of marine ecosystems has grown. These include increasing abundance of reef organisms both inside and outside NTAs, pr...
Abundance and dominance become less predictable as species richness decreases
Dornelas, Maria; Phillip, Dawn A. T.; Magurran, Anne E.Aim To test the hypothesis that communities with higher diversity have more predictable properties by examining patterns of community structure along a species richness gradient. Location Trinidad and Tobago (11°00 N, 61°00 W), on the South American continental shelf, opposite the Orinoco River delta, north-east Venezuela. Methods We used quantile regressions to investigate how three total abundance, absolute a...
Biological diversity in a changing world
Magurran, Anne E.; Dornelas, MariaFrom the pioneering explorations of Joseph Banks (later a President of the Royal Society), to the present day, a great deal has been learnt about the extent, distribution and stability of biological diversity in the world. We now know that diverse life can be found even in the most inhospitable places. We have also learned that biological diversity changes through time over both large and small temporal scales....
Disturbance and change in biodiversity
Dornelas, MariaUnderstanding how disturbance affects biodiversity is important for both fundamental and applied reasons. Here, I investigate how disturbances with different ecological effects change biodiversity metrics. I define three main types of disturbance effects: D disturbance (shifts in mortality rate), B disturbance (shifts in reproductive rates) and K disturbance (shifts in carrying capacity). Numerous composite dis...