IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v11y2020i1d10.1038_s41467-020-17779-0.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Rare and common vertebrates span a wide spectrum of population trends

Author

Listed:
  • Gergana N. Daskalova

    (University of Edinburgh)

  • Isla H. Myers-Smith

    (University of Edinburgh)

  • John L. Godlee

    (University of Edinburgh)

Abstract

The Earth’s biota is changing over time in complex ways. A critical challenge is to test whether specific biomes, taxa or types of species benefit or suffer in a time of accelerating global change. We analysed nearly 10,000 abundance time series from over 2000 vertebrate species part of the Living Planet Database. We integrated abundance data with information on geographic range, habitat preference, taxonomic and phylogenetic relationships, and IUCN Red List Categories and threats. We find that 15% of populations declined, 18% increased, and 67% showed no net changes over time. Against a backdrop of no biogeographic and phylogenetic patterning in population change, we uncover a distinct taxonomic signal. Amphibians were the only taxa that experienced net declines in the analysed data, while birds, mammals and reptiles experienced net increases. Population trends were poorly captured by species’ rarity and global-scale threats. Incorporation of the full spectrum of population change will improve conservation efforts to protect global biodiversity.

Suggested Citation

  • Gergana N. Daskalova & Isla H. Myers-Smith & John L. Godlee, 2020. "Rare and common vertebrates span a wide spectrum of population trends," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-13, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-17779-0
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17779-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-17779-0
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-020-17779-0?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Anna Toszogyova & Jan Smyčka & David Storch, 2024. "Mathematical biases in the calculation of the Living Planet Index lead to overestimation of vertebrate population decline," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.
    2. Wu-Bing Xu & Shane A. Blowes & Viviana Brambilla & Cher F. Y. Chow & Ada Fontrodona-Eslava & Inês S. Martins & Daniel McGlinn & Faye Moyes & Alban Sagouis & Hideyasu Shimadzu & Roel Klink & Anne E. Ma, 2023. "Regional occupancy increases for widespread species but decreases for narrowly distributed species in metacommunity time series," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    3. C. A. Morrison & A. Auniņš & Z. Benkő & L. Brotons & T. Chodkiewicz & P. Chylarecki & V. Escandell & D. P. Eskildsen & A. Gamero & S. Herrando & F. Jiguet & J. A. Kålås & J. Kamp & A. Klvaňová & P. Km, 2021. "Bird population declines and species turnover are changing the acoustic properties of spring soundscapes," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-12, December.
    4. Lisandro Benedetti-Cecchi & Amanda E. Bates & Giovanni Strona & Fabio Bulleri & Barbara Horta e Costa & Graham J. Edgar & Bernat Hereu & Dan C. Reed & Rick D. Stuart-Smith & Neville S. Barrett & David, 2024. "Marine protected areas promote stability of reef fish communities under climate warming," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-17, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-17779-0. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.