Biology subjects

Rosindell, J.

Publications and source records attributed to Rosindell, J..

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

bioRxiv2021

The Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework must safeguard the Tree of Life

Following our failure to fully achieve any of the 20 Aichi biodiversity targets, the future of biodiversity rests in the balance. The Convention on Biological Diversitys Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) presents us with the opportunity to preserve Natures Contributions to People (NCPs) for current and future generations through conserving biodiversity and averting extinction across the Tree of Life. Here we call attention to our need to conserve the Tree of Life to maintain its benefits into the future as a key mechanism for achieving intergenerational equity. We highlight two indicators available for adoption in the post-2020 GBF to monitor our progress towards safeguarding the Tree of Life. The Phylogenetic Diversity indicator, adopted by IPBES, can be used to monitor biodiversitys capacity to maintain NCPs for future generations. The EDGE (Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered) Index monitors how well we are performing at averting the greatest losses across the Tree of Life by conserving the most distinctive species. By committing to safeguarding the Tree of Life post-2020, we can reduce biodiversity loss to preserve natures contributions to humanity now and into the future.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2020

Dynamic visualisation of million-tip trees: the OneZoom project

O_LIThe complete tree of life is now available, but methods to visualise it are still needed to meet needs in research, teaching and science communication. Dynamic visualisation of million-tip trees requires many challenges in data synthesis, data handling and computer graphics to be overcome. C_LIO_LIOur approach is to automate data processing, synthesise data from a wide range of available sources, then to feed these data to a client-side visualisation engine in parts. We develop a way to store the whole tree topology locally in a highly compressed form, then dynamically populate metadata such as text and images as the user explores. C_LIO_LIThe result is a seamless and smooth way to explore the complete tree of life, including images and metadata, even on relatively old mobile devices. C_LIO_LIThe underlying methods developed have applications that transcend tree of life visualisation. For the whole complete tree, we describe automated ID mappings between well known resources without resorting to taxonomic name resolution, automated methods to collate sets of public domain representative images for higher taxa, and an index to measure public interest of individual species. C_LIO_LIThe visualisation layout and the client user interface are both abstracted components of the codebase enabling other zoomable tree layouts to be swapped in, and supporting multiple applications including exhibition kiosks and digital art. C_LIO_LIAfter ten years of work, our tree of life explorer is now broadly complete, it has attracted nearly 1.5 million online users, and is backed by a novel long-term sustainability plan. We conclude our description of the OneZoom project by suggesting the next challenges that need to be solved in this field: extinct species and guided tours around the tree. C_LI

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2020

A unified model of species abundance, genetic diversity, and functional diversity revealsthe mechanisms structuring ecological communities

Biodiversity accumulates hierarchically by means of ecological and evolutionary processes and feedbacks. Reconciling the relative importance of these processes is hindered by current theory, which tends to focus on a single spatial, temporal or taxonomic scale. We introduce a mechanistic model of community assembly, rooted in classic island biogeography theory, which makes temporally explicit joint predictions across three biodiversity data axes: i) species richness and abundances; ii) population genetic diversities; and iii) trait variation in a phylogenetic context. We demonstrate that each data axis captures information at different timescales, and that integrating these axes enables discriminating among previously unidentifiable community assembly models. We combine our massive eco-evolutionary synthesis simulations (MESS) with supervised machine learning to fit the parameters of the model to real data and infer processes underlying how biodiversity accumulates, using communities of tropical trees, arthropods, and gastropods as case studies that span a range of spatial scales.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2019

Global priorities for conservation of reptilian phylogenetic diversity in the face of human impacts

Phylogenetic Diversity (PD) is increasingly recognised as an important measure that can provide information on evolutionary and functional aspects of biodiversity for conservation planning that are not readily captured by species diversity. Here we develop and analyse two new metrics that combine the effects of PD and human encroachment on species range size -- one metric valuing regions and another enabling species prioritisation. We evaluate these metrics for reptiles, which have been largely neglected in previous studies, and contrast these results with equivalent calculations for all terrestrial vertebrate groups. We find that high human impacted areas unfortunately coincide with the most valuable areas of reptilian diversity, more than expected by chance. We also find that, under our species-level metric, the highest priority reptile species score far above the top mammal and bird species, and they include a disproportionate number of species with insufficient information on potential threats. Such Data Deficient species are, in terms of our metric, comparable to Critically Endangered species and may require urgent conservation attention.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2019

A phylogenomic analysis of Nepenthes (Nepenthaceae)

Nepenthaceae is one of the largest carnivorous plant families and features ecological and morphological adaptations indicating an impressive adaptive radiation. However, investigation of evolutionary and taxonomic questions is hindered by poor phylogenetic understanding, with previous molecular studies based on limited loci and taxa. We use high-throughput sequencing with a target-capture methodology based on a 353-loci, probe set to recover sequences for 197 samples, representing 151 described or putative Nepenthes species. Phylogenetic analyses were performed using supermatrix and maximum quartet species tree approaches. Our analyses confirm five Western outlier taxa, followed by N. danseri, as successively sister to the remainder of the group. We also find mostly consistent recovery of two major Southeast Asian clades. The first contains common or widespread lowland species plus a Wallacean-New Guinean clade. Within the second clade, sects. Insignes and Tentaculatae are well supported, while geographically defined clades representing Sumatra, Indochina, Peninsular Malaysia, Palawan, Mindanao and Borneo are also consistently recovered. However, we find considerable conflicting signal at the site and locus level, and often unstable backbone relationships. A handful of Bornean taxa are inconsistently placed and require further investigation. We make further suggestions for a modified infra-generic classification of genus Nepenthes.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2017

A simple spatially explicit neutral model explains range size distribution of reef fishes

AimThe great variation in range sizes among species has fascinated ecologists for decades. In reef-associated fish species, which live in fragmented habitats and adopt a wide range of dispersal strategies, we may expect species with greater dispersal ability to spread over larger ranges. However, empirical evidence for such a positive relationship between dispersal and range size in reef fishes remains scarce. Here, we unveil the more nuanced role of dispersal on the range size distribution of reef associated fishes using empirical data and a novel spatially explicit model.\n\nLocationTropical Eastern Pacific\n\nMajor taxa studiedReef-associated fishes\n\nMethodsWe estimated range size distributions for six different guilds of all reef-associated fishes with different dispersal abilities. We used a one-dimensional spatially explicit neutral model, which simulates the distribution of species along a linear coastline to explored the effect of dispersal, speciation and sampling on the distribution of range sizes. Our model adopts a more realistic gradual speciation process (protracted speciation) and incorporates important long distance dispersal events with a fat-tail dispersal kernel. We simulated our model using a highly efficient coalescence approach, which guarantees the metacommunity, is sampled at dynamic equilibrium. We fitted the model to the empirical data using an approximate Bayesian computation approach, with a sequential Monte Carlo algorithm.\n\nResultsStochastic birth, death, speciation and dispersal events alone can accurately explain empirical range size distributions for six different guilds of tropical, reef-associated fishes. Variation in range size distributions among guilds are explained purely by differences in dispersal ability with the best dispersers covering larger ranges.\n\nMain conclusionsA simple combination of neutral processes with guild-specific dispersal ability provides a general explanation for both within- and across-guild range size variation. Our results support the theoretically expected, but empirically much debated, hypothesis that dispersal promotes range size.

ecology↗