Ashley

Arnold BIO 1615 Wed-0800 Introduction

Rare Species Support Vulnerable Functions in High Diversity Ecosystems

Rare species may not comprise of large numbers, but may still have a very necessary role in their ecosystem. These species are highly vulnerable to overexploitation. The loss of these rare species is predicted to have a short term, locally limited effect due to the limited number present. The opposing argument is that these rare species are more likely to support functions that cannot be delivered by species with more-common traits (Mouillot et all, 2013). The best case scenario is that there are shared common traits between common species that together can maintain the functioning ecosystem after loosing the rare species while the worst case scenario is that common species are not able to perform the functional traits of the rare species. The worst case scenario would endanger the functions of the rare species creating the possibility of extinction of those traits and functions. This study created an extensive database of local abundances, regional occurrences, and functional traits from highly diverse ecosystems. This dataset includes three ecosystems and 846 coral reef fishes, 2,979 alpine plants, and 662 tropical trees. Through this dataset, the scientists were able to demonstrate that highly distinct combinations of traits are supported predominately by rare species both at the local and regional scales (Mouillet et all, 2013). Results Each dataset was segmented into two aspects of rarity: local abundance and regional occupancy. A few things need to be defined here. Rare, at a local scale,

Ashley Arnold BIO 1615 Wed-0800 consists of species with less than 5% of the most abundant species, and at a regional scale, consisting of less than 5% occupancy of the most common species in the dataset. The rarest species were defined as, at the local scale, a single individual or less than 1% of most abundant species and at the regional scale, as one occurrence. The dataset compiled for this experiment developed a triangular relationship between the high functional distinctiveness of rare species and low functional distinctiveness was in either common or rare species. Rarity at the local and regional scales was a trait of the two species with the highest functional distinctiveness values. These were the Saxifrage mutate and Rosa sempervirens. Across all three ecosystems, the most functionally distinct species all had a regional occupancy less than 50% of the maximum value and most of them were rare (Mouillet et all, 2013). The sampling effect may have led to skewed results due to the fact that rare and rarest species were overrepresented in this sample in all three ecosystems. This overrepresentation of highly vulnerable functioning species combined with the underrepresentation of the least vulnerable functioning species may have skewed the results. Discussion The conclusion drawn from this experiment is that the combinations of traits with the highest distinctiveness values are all supported by rare species (Mouillet et all, 2013). These results show that the least-redundant combinations of traits are carried by those species that are locally and regionally rare. Protection of the locally rare, as well as regionally rare, species is demonstrated through the

Ashley Arnold BIO 1615 Wed-0800 conclusions drawn here because they support the more vulnerable functions of the ecosystem as well as increase the functional diversity of the community. An example of the importance of these rare species is the batfish, which has been identified as performing a key role in reef regeneration. The Sapotaceae is another very rare species, which has the highest functional vulnerability value. This tree is an important buffer for maintaining forest structure and function with the global climate change. The results call for the role of rarity and functional vulnerability in ecosystems to be addressed. One example of this is the salinity stress that may cause a difference in the functional traits that are successful. Materials and Methods The dataset included 1,390,000 fish from 846 species of reef fishes along with 2,979 species of alpine plants and 662 tropical tree species. A distance sampling method was used to identify and count species that were greater than 4 cm in length. The alpine plant dataset was developed through information at the National Alpine Botanical Conservatory consisting of datasets of approximately two million spatially localized single occurrences. The tropical trees were climbed to obtain a sample of both twig and leaf. Reference: Mouillot, D., Bellwood, D., Baraloto, C., Chave, J., Galzin, R., Harmelin-Vivien, M., , Thuiller, W., (2013). PLOS Biology: Rare Species Support Vulnerable Functions in High-Diversity Ecosystems. PLOS Biology : Publishing science, accelerating research. Retrieved June 5, 2013, from http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info%3Ado