Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ENVIRON_CHANGE (Long-term consequences of environmental changes on biodiversity: incorporating life history traits and time dimension when assessing and predicting the loss of functional and phylogenetic complexity.)
Reporting period: 2021-07-01 to 2023-06-30
Not all species respond equally habitat alteration; rather, some appear to be better adapted to cope with new challenges. It follows that altered habitats should not only sustain fewer species, but also hold less functions. Species loss may lead to a great loss of fundamental characteristics to maintain ecosystem functioning, e. g. morphological complexity. If the adaptations needed to cope with the new challenges are conserved in the tree of life, we also expect the loss of species to induce a loss and homogenisation of phylogenetic diversity, which means a loss of evolutionary history. The loss of biodiversity driven by habitat alteration has a great potential to alter ecosystem functioning and reduce ecosystem stability, and hence impact the long-term sustainability of ecosystem services. With more than half of human population currently living in urban and rural areas and benefiting directly from nature, there is an urgent need for improved understanding of how habitat conversion affects biodiversity components linked to ecosystem functions and services. To advance our knowledge, the main scientific aim of ENVIRON_CHANGE was to assess how differences in tolerance to habitat alteration affect changes associated with species composition and functional and phylogenetic diversities of empirical communities. Specifically, I proposed to investigate the causes and long-term consequences of land use intensification by anthropogenic activities on biodiversity of avian communities. The results obtained from ENVIRON_CHANGE for now highlighted the complex consequences that the transformation of native forests into anthropogenic landscapes has on biodiversity. We provide an important avenue for future research by offering a general picture of the impact that human activities have on biodiversity, allowing to better guide management decisions based on species functions linked to ecosystem functioning and services rather than species number alone.
During the first year of ENVIRON_CHANGE, I extracted land cover information, gathered information on bird morphological traits and of species abundances for tropical (Brazil) and temperate (US) zones. I trained myself in Bayesian Linear Mixed Models and further availed from the WATERING TALENTS program from the host institution in order to strengthen my skills. With the knowledge acquired, I characterised bird assemblages phylogenetically, functionally and derived functional diversity metrics. I presented the results to my colleagues at CREAF, in social media and prepared myself to participate in international conferences. The preliminary results of my research were presented at the ‘GTöE 2022 – European Conference for Tropical Ecology’ and at ‘BOU 2023, the British Ornithologists' Union Conference on Evolutionary Responses’. After considering the comments received, I finished a draft of the first manuscript fruit of ENVIRON_CHANGE. In this study we examined the antagonistic impacts of land use conversion and habitat heterogeneity on species richness, and assessed subsequent effects on functional diversity of tropical birds. The study sheds light on the intricate consequences of transforming native forests into anthropogenic landscapes, emphasising the importance of discerning the effects of deforestation from habitat heterogeneity when assessing its effects on natural biodiversity.
Still during the first year, collaborated in the manuscript "Using biodiversity surrogates for ecosystem services conservation in human-modified landscapes", currently under review in Ecosystem Services journal. In this paper we introduced area-based conservation targets in Europe, using terrestrial vertebrates as biodiversity surrogates for ecosystem services. Using mainland Portugal as a case study, we showed distribution patterns, conservation status and ecological trade-offs between biodiversity and ecosystem targets in human-dominated landscapes. Our findings introduced area-based conservation targets for a better understanding of biodiversity–ecosystem services relationships in environmental management applications at multiple scales.
During the second year of ENVIRON_CHANGE, I participated in a book chapter in collaboration with my supervisor. With the aims at describing the role of animal behaviour and life history traits in defining responses to urbanisation, the book chapter is accepted for publication by the Oxford University Press. Also, in the last six months, I have been co-supervising the master thesis of Jon Went, from the ETZ Zürich. Using data on morphological information of birds, land cover and bird abundances from temperate ecosystems in the US, we are developing large-scale spatiotemporal models that integrate legacy effects and life history traits to investigate their complex relationship and consequences to avian biodiversity. The results will generate a scientific paper to be published in a journal of the first quartile. In parallel, I have a new manuscript in prep, which aims at describing the spatiotemporal changes in phylogenetic and functional bird biodiversity across land use change in temperate ecosystems in the US, complementing and accomplishing the main scientific aims of ENVIRON_CHANGE. When finished, the manuscript will be published in a journal of the first quartile.
Still during the first year, collaborated in the manuscript "Using biodiversity surrogates for ecosystem services conservation in human-modified landscapes", currently under review in Ecosystem Services journal. In this paper we introduced area-based conservation targets in Europe, using terrestrial vertebrates as biodiversity surrogates for ecosystem services. Using mainland Portugal as a case study, we showed distribution patterns, conservation status and ecological trade-offs between biodiversity and ecosystem targets in human-dominated landscapes. Our findings introduced area-based conservation targets for a better understanding of biodiversity–ecosystem services relationships in environmental management applications at multiple scales.
During the second year of ENVIRON_CHANGE, I participated in a book chapter in collaboration with my supervisor. With the aims at describing the role of animal behaviour and life history traits in defining responses to urbanisation, the book chapter is accepted for publication by the Oxford University Press. Also, in the last six months, I have been co-supervising the master thesis of Jon Went, from the ETZ Zürich. Using data on morphological information of birds, land cover and bird abundances from temperate ecosystems in the US, we are developing large-scale spatiotemporal models that integrate legacy effects and life history traits to investigate their complex relationship and consequences to avian biodiversity. The results will generate a scientific paper to be published in a journal of the first quartile. In parallel, I have a new manuscript in prep, which aims at describing the spatiotemporal changes in phylogenetic and functional bird biodiversity across land use change in temperate ecosystems in the US, complementing and accomplishing the main scientific aims of ENVIRON_CHANGE. When finished, the manuscript will be published in a journal of the first quartile.
The results of EVIRON_CHANGE so far highlighted the complex consequences that the transformation of native ecosystems into anthropogenic landscapes has on biodiversity. One of the main challenge in decision making processes has been to understand what configurations are more effective in maintaining and enhancing biodiversity so as to inform the policies that should guarantee the preservation of ecosystem functions and provisioning services. As a step forward, we characterised entire communities in tropical (Brazil) and temperate (US) zones in terms of morphological traits and explored how changes in functional diversity reflect a loss of species richness, and are affected by response traits. We provided important information on the importance of considering species functions linked to ecosystem functioning and services rather than species number alone when performing management decisions. We also disentangled the effect of deforestation by human activities on biodiversity from the influence of habitat heterogeneity generated by the mosaic of anthropogenic habitats created by land conversion. Going further, functional loss is largely recognised by its direct effects on the provision of ecosystem services, and one key strategy to promote nature benefits more effectively to people is to correlate ecosystem services and conservation needs. Using mainland Portugal as a case study, we showed distribution patterns, conservation status and ecological trade-offs between biodiversity and ecosystem targets in human-dominated landscapes. Our country-wide overview of ecosystem services may be useful to engage policymakers complying with the aims of the European Green Deal for helping halt biodiversity loss. Our findings support the lack of integrated information on multiple ecosystem services in Europe and address the implementation of biodiversity and ecosystem services’ targets at different scales. Furthermore, this innovative perspective goes beyond EU borders and can be useful for monitoring ecosystem services within the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.