Biology subjects

Moyes, F.

Publications and source records attributed to Moyes, F..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2023

Widespread reductions in body size are paired with stable assemblage biomass.

Biotic responses to global change include directional shifts in organismal traits. Body size, an integrative trait that determines demographic rates and ecosystem functions, is often thought to be shrinking in the Anthropocene. Here, we assess the prevalence of body size change in six taxon groups across 5,032 assemblage time-series spanning 1960-2020. Using the Price equation to partition this change into within-species body size versus compositional changes, we detect prevailing decreases in body size through time. Change in assemblage composition contributes more to body size changes than within-species trends, but both components show substantial variation in magnitude and direction. The biomass of assemblages remains remarkably stable as decreases in body size trade-off with increases in abundance. One-Sentence SummaryVariable within-species and compositional trends combine into shrinking body size, abundance increases and stable biomass.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2022

Synthesis reveals biotic homogenisation and differentiation are both common

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.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2018

Biodiversity trends are stronger in marine than terrestrial assemblages

Human activities have fundamentally altered biodiversity. Extinction rates are elevated and model projections suggest drastic biodiversity declines. Yet, observed temporal trends in recent decades are highly variable, despite consistent change in species composition. Here, we uncover clear spatial patterns within this variation. We estimated trends in the richness and composition of assemblages in over 50,000 time-series, to provide the most comprehensive assessment of temporal change in biodiversity across the planet to date. The strongest, most consistent pattern shows compositional change dominated by species turnover, with marine taxa experiencing up to fourfold the variation in rates of change of terrestrial taxa. Richness change ranged from no change to richness gains or losses of ~10% per year, with tropical marine biomes experiencing the most extreme changes. Earth is undergoing a process of spatial reorganisation of species and, while few areas are unaffected, biodiversity change is consistently strongest in the oceans.

ecology↗