Defaunation precipitates the extinction of evolutionarily distinct interactions in the Anthropocene

Author

Carine Emer, Mauro Galetti, Marco Aurélio Pizo et al.

Published

June 1, 2019

Doi

10.1126/sciadv.aav6699

Carine Emer, Mauro Galetti, Marco Aurélio Pizo et al 2019. Defaunation precipitates the extinction of evolutionarily distinct interactions in the Anthropocene. Science Advances 5: eaav6699. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aav6699

Publication Details

Published in: Science Advances  Open Access: Yes

BibTeX

@article{RN57854,
   author = {Emer, C. and Galetti, M. and Pizo, M. A. and Jordano, P. and Verdu, M.},
   title = {Defaunation precipitates the extinction of evolutionarily distinct interactions in the Anthropocene},
   journal = {Science Advances},
   volume = {5},
   number = {6},
   pages = {eaav6699},
   note = {Emer, Carine
Galetti, Mauro
Pizo, Marco A
Jordano, Pedro
Verdu, Miguel
eng
Sci Adv. 2019 Jun 19;5(6):eaav6699. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aav6699. eCollection 2019 Jun.},
   abstract = {Species on Earth are interconnected with each other through ecological interactions. Defaunation can erode those connections, yet we lack evolutionary predictions about the consequences of losing interactions in human-modified ecosystems. We quantified the fate of the evolutionary history of avian-seed dispersal interactions across tropical forest fragments by combining the evolutionary distinctness of the pairwise-partner species, a proxy to their unique functional features. Both large-seeded plant and large-bodied bird species showed the highest evolutionary distinctness. We estimate a loss of 3.5 to 4.7 x 10(4) million years of cumulative evolutionary history of interactions due to defaunation. Bird-driven local extinctions mainly erode the most evolutionarily distinct interactions. However, the persistence of less evolutionarily distinct bird species in defaunated areas exerts a phylogenetic rescue effect through seed dispersal of evolutionarily distinct plant species.},
   ISSN = {2375-2548 (Electronic)
2375-2548 (Linking)},
   DOI = {10.1126/sciadv.aav6699},
   url = {https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31223648},
   year = {2019},
   type = {Journal Article}
}