Synthesis reveals biotic homogenisation and differentiation are both common

Blowes, S.; McGill, B.; Brambilla, V.; Chow, C. F. Y.; Engel, T.; Fontrodona-Eslava, A.; Martins, I. S.; McGlinn, D.; Moyes, F.; Sagouis, A.; Shimadzu, H.; van Klink, R.; Xu, W.-B.; Gotelli, N. J.; Magurran, A.; Dornelas, M.; Chase, J.

doi:10.1101/2022.07.05.498812

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2022.07.05.498812

Synthesis reveals biotic homogenisation and differentiation are both common

Blowes, S.·McGill, B.·Brambilla, V.·Chow, C. F. Y.·Engel, T.·Fontrodona-Eslava, A.·Martins, I. S.·McGlinn, D.·Moyes, F.·Sagouis, A.·Shimadzu, H.·van Klink, R.·Xu, W.-B.·Gotelli, N. J.·Magurran, A.·Dornelas, M.·Chase, J.

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Abstract

It is commonly thought that the biodiversity crisis includes widespread decreases in the uniqueness of different sites in a landscape (biotic homogenization). Using a typology relating homogenization and differentiation to local and regional diversity changes, we synthesize patterns across 283 metacommunities surveyed for 10-91 years, and 54 species checklists (13-500+ years). On average, there is a 0.2% increase in species shared among communities/year (i.e., weak homogenization), but across data sets, differentiation frequently occurs, with no statistically significant change being most common. Local (not regional) diversity frequently underlies composition change, and homogenization is strongly associated with checklist data that have longer durations and large spatial scales. Conservation and management can benefit from the multiscale perspective used here as it disentangles the implications of both the differentiation and homogenization currently unfolding. One-Sentence SummaryBiotic homogenization is most prevalent at large temporal and spatial scales.

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Blowes, S., McGill, B., Brambilla, V., Chow, C. F. Y., Engel, T., Fontrodona-Eslava, A., Martins, I. S., McGlinn, D., Moyes, F., Sagouis, A., Shimadzu, H., van Klink, R., Xu, W.-B., Gotelli, N. J., Magurran, A., Dornelas, M., Chase, J.. 2022-07-05. Synthesis reveals biotic homogenisation and differentiation are both common. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.07.05.498812

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