Biodiversity articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Soil seed banks are reservoirs of plant biodiversity. Here the authors compile a global dataset of soil seed banks in natural plant communities and report a spatially explicit analysis of environmental controls of seed bank density and diversity.

    • Xuejun Yang
    • , Carol C. Baskin
    •  & Johannes H. C. Cornelissen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Species identity and richness both contribute biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships. Here the authors apply a decomposition approach inspired by the Price equation to a global dataset of reef fish community biomass, finding that increased richness and community compositions favouring large-bodied species enhance biomass.

    • Jonathan S. Lefcheck
    • , Graham J. Edgar
    •  & Aneil F. Agrawal

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Land use is a key control of insect communities. Here the authors investigate relationships of insect biomass and richness with land use along a climate gradient, finding evidence of urbanisation and agriculture as drivers of decline, and of biomass and species richness not being suitable as mutual surrogates.

    • Johannes Uhler
    • , Sarah Redlich
    •  & Jörg Müller

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A phylogeny of Nymphalidae butterflies unveils the origin of the latitudinal diversity gradient. This study showed that the modern pattern of species richness emerged from dynamics of dispersal and diversification that varied through time and across regions, and that global climate change throughout the Cenozoic probably played a major role in generating the biodiversity pattern.

    • Nicolas Chazot
    • , Fabien L. Condamine
    •  & Niklas Wahlberg

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships may vary with climate. Here, the authors study relationships of plant and soil microbial diversity with soil nutrient multifunctionality in 130 dryland sites in China, finding a shift towards greater importance of soil microbial diversity in arid conditions.

    • Weigang Hu
    • , Jinzhi Ran
    •  & Jianming Deng

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Crop diversification could be important for food security. Here, using methods from network science, the authors find that a positive relationship between crop diversity and nutritional stability globally does not necessarily equate to improving nutritional stability in a given country.

    • Charlie C. Nicholson
    • , Benjamin F. Emery
    •  & Meredith T. Niles

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Anthropogenic extinctions are driving functional shifts in biological communities, but these changes might differ considerably among taxa and biogeographic regions. Here the authors show that projected losses of functional diversity among land and freshwater vertebrates are unevenly distributed across the world.

    • Aurele Toussaint
    • , Sébastien Brosse
    •  & Carlos P. Carmona

  • Review Article
    | Open Access

    Seed banks are generated when individuals enter a dormant state, a phenomenon that has evolved among diverse taxa, but that is also found in stem cells, brains, and tumors. Here, Lennon et al. synthesize the fundamentals of seed-bank theory and the emergence of complex patterns and dynamics in mathematics and the life sciences.

    • Jay T. Lennon
    • , Frank den Hollander
    •  & Jochen Blath

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Habitat fragmentation and eutrophication have strong impacts on biodiversity but there is limited understanding of their cumulative impacts. This study presents simulations of meta-food-webs and provides a mechanistic explanation of how landscape heterogeneity promotes biodiversity through rescue and drainage effects.

    • Remo Ryser
    • , Myriam R. Hirt
    •  & Ulrich Brose

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The linkage between temperature change and extinction rates in the fossil record is well-known qualitatively but little explored quantitatively. Here the authors investigate the relationship of marine animal extinctions with rate and magnitude of temperature change across the last 450 million years, and identify thresholds in climate change linked to mass extinctions.

    • Haijun Song
    • , David B. Kemp
    •  & Xu Dai

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Plant and soil C:N:P ratios are critical to ecosystem functioning, but it remains uncertain how plant diversity affects terrestrial C:N:P. In this meta-analysis of 169 studies, the authors find that plant mixtures can balance plant and soil C:N:P ratios according to background soil C:N:P.

    • Xinli Chen
    •  & Han Y. H. Chen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Relationships between biodiversity and phosphorus cycling and the underlying processes are complex. Here the authors analyse a biodiversity manipulation experiment and an agricultural management gradient to show how plant and mycorrhizal fungal diversity promote phosphorus exploitation.

    • Yvonne Oelmann
    • , Markus Lange
    •  & Wolfgang Wilcke

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Advances in omics approaches could enable quantitative predictions of microbial functional composition. Here the authors re-analyze 885 metagenome-assembled genomes from Tara Oceans, and use a network approach to quantify protein functional clusters and explore their biogeography.

    • Emile Faure
    • , Sakina-Dorothée Ayata
    •  & Lucie Bittner

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Land use intensification is a major driver of biodiversity change. Here the authors measure diversity across multiple trophic levels in agricultural grassland landscapes of varying management, finding decoupled responses of above- and belowground taxa to local factors and a strong impact of landscape-level land use.

    • Gaëtane Le Provost
    • , Jan Thiele
    •  & Peter Manning

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Conserving mangrove biodiversity has numerous co-benefits, including climate change-mitigation. Here the authors demonstrate that blue carbon storage in mangroves can be best sustained by combining site-specific dominant species with other species with contrasting functional traits.

    • Md Mizanur Rahman
    • , Martin Zimmer
    •  & Ming Xu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    It is unclear whether stream detritivore diversity enhances decomposition across climates. Here the authors manipulate litter diversity and examine detritivore assemblages in a globally distributed stream litterbag experiment, finding a positive diversity-decomposition relationship stronger in tropical streams, where detritivore diversity is lower.

    • Luz Boyero
    • , Naiara López-Rojo
    •  & Catherine M. Yule

  • Article
    | Open Access

    There are relatively few known extant adaptive radiations in Europe that predate the Pleistocene. Here, Borko et al. characterize the diversity and diversification of the subterranean amphipod genus Niphargus, showing evidence for a large adaptive radiation associated with massif uplift 15 million years ago.

    • Špela Borko
    • , Peter Trontelj
    •  & Cene Fišer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    How can we best conserve the evolutionary heritage of our planet? Focusing on mammals, this study identifies the species and areas across the globe for which conservation actions would be the most beneficial for future projected phylogenetic diversity and highlights that they currently lack protection.

    • Marine Robuchon
    • , Sandrine Pavoine
    •  & Boris Leroy

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The relationship of mycorrhizal associations with latitudinal gradients in tree beta-diversity is unexplored. Using a global dataset approach, this study examines how trees with arbuscular mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal associations contribute to latitudinal beta-diversity patterns and the environmental controls of these patterns.

    • Yonglin Zhong
    • , Chengjin Chu
    •  & Jess K. Zimmerman

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Long-term sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) records can help inform how biodiversity will likely respond to future climate change. Here, Liu et al. reconstruct plant diversity at the margin of the Tibetan Plateau over the last ~18,000 years using sedaDNA and use this record to predict future diversity change.

    • Sisi Liu
    • , Stefan Kruse
    •  & Ulrike Herzschuh

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Age-richness rate (ARR) estimates of evolutionary diversification are widely used to study factors that influence species richness among clades. Here the authors show that ARR inference is based on problematic assumptions and recommend against its use in comparison of past diversity or diversification rates across clades.

    • Daniel L. Rabosky
    •  & Roger B. J. Benson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Anthropogenic losses of animal pollinators threaten ecosystem functioning. Here the authors report a global analysis showing geographically varied yet widespread declines of pollinator diversity and abundance with land use intensification, particularly in tropical biomes.

    • Joseph Millard
    • , Charlotte L. Outhwaite
    •  & Tim Newbold

  • Article
    | Open Access

    It is unclear whether plant-herbivore interactions systematically favour exotic plant species. Here the authors investigate plant-herbivore and plant-soil biota interactions in experimental mesocosm communities, finding that exotic plants dominate community biomass despite accumulating more invertebrate herbivores.

    • Warwick J. Allen
    • , Lauren P. Waller
    •  & Jason M. Tylianakis

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Advances in process-based community ecology models are hindered by the challenge of linking functional traits to demography in species-rich systems, where a high number of parameters need to be estimated from limited data. Here the authors propose a new Bayesian framework to calibrate community models via functional traits, and validate it in a species-rich plant community.

    • Loïc Chalmandrier
    • , Florian Hartig
    •  & Loïc Pellissier

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Climate change is a threat to global biodiversity, but the potential effects on freshwater fishes have not been well studied. Here the authors model future flow and water temperature extremes and predict that increases in water temperature in particular will pose serious threats to freshwater fishes

    • Valerio Barbarossa
    • , Joyce Bosmans
    •  & Aafke M. Schipper

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Proected areas (PA) expansion is a major conservation goal, but its effectiveness is debated. Here, the authors propose a multi-dimensional framework to assess PA vulnerability and select areas suitable for expansion, demonstrating it for 2572 PAs in China under a low-emission scenario.

    • Nawal Shrestha
    • , Xiaoting Xu
    •  & Zhiheng Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The nature of forest disturbances are changing, yet consequences for forest dynamics remain uncertain. Using a new index, Stanke et al. show the populations of over half of the most abundant tree species in the western US have declined in the last two decades, with grim implications for how temperate forests globally will respond to sustained anthropogenic and natural stress.

    • Hunter Stanke
    • , Andrew O. Finley
    •  & David W. MacFarlane

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Arms races between herbivores and plants have likely affected their evolutionary histories, which could have led to their high diversity. Allio et al. find that butterflies shifting to new host plants have more adaptive molecular signatures across their genomes and show repeated bursts of speciation rates.

    • Rémi Allio
    • , Benoit Nabholz
    •  & Fabien L. Condamine

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Quantifying forest degradation and biodiversity losses is necessary to inform conservation and restoration policies. Here the authors analyze a large dataset for the Atlantic Forest in South America to quantify losses in forest biomass and tree species richness, functional traits, and conservation value.

    • Renato A. F. de Lima
    • , Alexandre A. Oliveira
    •  & Paulo I. Prado

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Many mountain species are threatened by climate change and habitat loss. Here, the authors investigate population declines and range shifts of orchids in an alpine region in NE Italy over 28 years. For most species, population size decreased, while range shifts were idiosyncratic with over half of the species lagging behind climate change.

    • Costanza Geppert
    • , Giorgio Perazza
    •  & Lorenzo Marini

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Not all plants are equally able to support native insects. Here, the authors use data on interactions among >12,000 Lepidoptera species and >2000 plant genera across the United States, showing that few plant genera host the majority of Lepidoptera species; this information is used to suggest priorities for plant restoration.

    • Desiree L. Narango
    • , Douglas W. Tallamy
    •  & Kimberley J. Shropshire

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Long-term dynamics of species’ range sizes play a crucial role in determining extinction risks. Here the authors simulate global vegetation cover and scenarios of anthropogenic land cover change to estimate habitat range sizes of thousands of mammal, bird, and amphibian species since 1700, and project trajectories up to 2100 under four emission scenarios and five socio-economic pathways.

    • Robert M. Beyer
    •  & Andrea Manica

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Eutrophication has been shown to weaken diversity-stability relationships in grasslands, but it is unclear whether the effect depends on scale. Analysing a globally distributed network of grassland sites, the authors show a positive role of beta diversity and spatial asynchrony as drivers of stability but find that nitrogen enrichment weakens the diversity-stability relationships at different spatial scales.

    • Yann Hautier
    • , Pengfei Zhang
    •  & Shaopeng Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    High-latitude records show large diversity losses of marine plankton, such as radiolarians, with historical climate change. Here, Trubovitz et al. present a low-latitude record spanning the last 10 million years, finding that many high-latitude radiolarians did not shift equatorward but instead went extinct.

    • Sarah Trubovitz
    • , David Lazarus
    •  & Paula J. Noble

  • Comment
    | Open Access

    Protected areas (PAs) are the most important conservation tool, yet assessing their effectiveness is remarkably challenging. We clarify the links between the many facets of PA effectiveness, from evaluating the means, to analysing the mechanisms, to directly measuring biodiversity outcomes.

    • Ana S. L. Rodrigues
    •  & Victor Cazalis

  • Article
    | Open Access

    There are many available ways to rank species for conservation prioritization. Here the authors identify species of mammals and birds that are both spatially restricted and functionally distinct, finding that such species are currently insufficiently protected and disproportionately sensitive to current and future threats.

    • Nicolas Loiseau
    • , Nicolas Mouquet
    •  & Cyrille Violle

  • Article
    | Open Access

    There are gaps in international efforts to monitor the wildlife trade, with many species potentially being undetected by the established monitoring groups. Here the authors use an automated web search to document the sale of reptiles online, revealing over 36% of all known reptile species are in trade, including many missing from official databases.

    • Benjamin M. Marshall
    • , Colin Strine
    •  & Alice C. Hughes

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Microbes interact in different ways than macro-organisms, but their interactions can still form the basis for broader macroecological patterns like the Species Abundance Distribution. Here, the author shows that thre general ecological patterns can be found in microbes, within and across biome types.

    • Jacopo Grilli

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Salvage logging has become a common practice to gain economic returns from naturally disturbed forests, but it could have considerable negative effects on biodiversity. Here the authors use a recently developed statistical method to estimate that ca. 75% of the naturally disturbed forest should be left unlogged to maintain 90% of the species unique to the area.

    • Simon Thorn
    • , Anne Chao
    •  & Alexandro B. Leverkus

  • Article
    | Open Access

    How past climate change has affected biodiversity over large spatial scales remains underexplored. Here, the authors find marked homogenization in flowering plant phylogenetic diversity across Central and Northern Europe linked to rapid climate change and large distances to glacial refugia.

    • Bianca Saladin
    • , Loïc Pellissier
    •  & Niklaus E. Zimmermann

  • Article
    | Open Access

    There is evidence that reducing plant litter diversity may slow litter decomposition rate. Here, Mori and colleagues perform a global meta-analysis of litter-bag studies to show that mixed-species litter assemblages decompose faster than monospecific assemblages, with a magnitude comparable to the predicted effect of climate warming.

    • Akira S. Mori
    • , J. Hans C. Cornelissen
    •  & Forest Isbell

  • Article
    | Open Access

    It is unclear how biodiversity-ecosystem functioning and species coexistence mechanisms are linked. Here, Godoy and colleagues combine field-parameterised competition models with a BEF experiment to show that mechanisms leading to more stable species coexistence lead to greater productivity, but not necessarily to enhanced functions other than primary production.

    • Oscar Godoy
    • , Lorena Gómez-Aparicio
    •  & Eric Allan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Brandl, Johansen et al. compare organismal traits, community structure, and productivity dynamics of cryptobenthic reef fishes across two locations, the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, the former of which harbors the world’s hottest coral reefs. They show that environmental extremes in the Arabian Gulf result in dramatically less diverse, abundant, and productive cryptobenthic fish assemblages, which could foreshadow the future of coral reef biodiversity and functioning.

    • Simon J. Brandl
    • , Jacob L. Johansen
    •  & John A. Burt

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Sedimentary DNA can be used to infer how organisms responded to changing environmental conditions over millennia. Here, the authors use sedimentary DNA of micro-eukaryotes in low-elevation (human-impacted) and high-elevation (more pristine) lakes to show how human influences have altered lake community composition in the Anthropocene.

    • François Keck
    • , Laurent Millet
    •  & Isabelle Domaizon

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