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7.7: Patterns of Biodiversity

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    71450
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    Developing a strategy to conserve biodiversity requires a firm understanding of where threatened species and populations occur, why they are threatened, what their needs are, and what role they play in their respective ecosystems. By obtaining an understanding of species’ distributions, biologists simultaneously gain an initial rough “estimate” of genetic diversity and ecosystem diversity. While addressing these questions is a critical task, finding appropriate answers can be complex, expensive, and take a long time to solve. This is in no small part because identifying species can, at times, be a very challenging endeavor.

    Challenging species identifications

    Before biologists can determine a species’ distribution, needs, and population status, it is important to know the identity of the individuals being studied. While this may sound like a straightforward task, the process of identifying (and naming) a species can be deceptively hard, even for professional taxonomist. For example, a recent study found that 58% of 4,500 wild African ginger (Aframomum spp.) specimens that were deposited by professional biologists across 40 herbaria in 21 countries were given the wrong name (Goodwin et al., 2015)!

    Describing species can be difficult, in part, because the multiple methods used by biologists to separate species do not always give the same results.

    Identifying species can be hard, in part because the three tests biologists use to separate different species—morphology, biology, and evolution—do not always give the same results. That is because the methods and assumptions of each test are different. For example, some species have several varieties with easily observed morphological differences but are biologically and genetically similar enough that all those varieties are still considered a single species. A well-known example is the single species Canis familiaris, or domestic dog, whose wildly variable and numerous breeds can interbreed despite their large morphological differences. In contrast, some butterflies are considered distinct species because they cannot interbreed and have a characteristic genetic makeup, even though they cannot be separated by the naked eye.

    Another important aspect complicating species identifications is that speciation—whereby one species evolves into another—is a slow and gradual process; for some species, it may take many thousands of years. Consequently, much controversy exists about where to draw the “new species” line; in other words, when is a species distinct enough to be considered a separate species? Similarly, biologists often struggle to split and identify cryptic species—undescribed species that are wrongly grouped with other similar-appearing species. A recent study estimated that 60% of newly discovered species are cryptic (Ceballos and Ehrlich, 2009).

    To complicate matters even further, some species are closely related enough that they sometimes mate and produce hybrids. These hybrids blur the distinction between species, particularly those that may be early in the process of speciation. For some taxa, hybridization naturally occurs in areas where the distribution ranges of related species overlap (e.g. de Jong and Butynski, 2010). Such natural hybridization plays an important role in speciation (the evolution of new species). But hybridization can also be detrimental to conservation efforts, particularly when it involves rare species and/or human disturbance. For example, when humans reduce one species’ populations so much that they struggle to find reproductive partners of their own kind (e.g. vaz Pinto et al., 2016), when humans remove dispersal barriers that kept related species apart (e.g. Mondol et al., 2015), or when humans force related species that naturally occupy separate distributions to live together through translocations (e.g. Grobler et al., 2011; Benjamin-Fink and Reilly, 2017; van Wyk et al., 2017). While some hybrids may be sterile and thus unable to reproduce, at other times the resulting offspring can be quite strong in an evolutionary sense—a condition known as hybrid vigor (or heterosis)—and may outcompete their parent species. The Cuban Crocodile (Figure 7.7.1), endemic to Cuba and critically endangered under the IUCN Red List, is restricted mainly to the Zapata Swamp where it coexists with the more widely distributed American Crocodile. Evidence of hybridization between these two species in the wild has been collected through DNA analysis. This hybridization further threatens the existence of the Cuban Crocodile. (Milian-Garcia et al., 2014)

    Photo of Cuban crocodile.
    Figure 7.7.1: Critically Endangered Cuban Crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer). (Photo by Iain A. Wanless, Flickr, CC-BY-2.0)

    Because the demand for expert taxonomists outstrips their availability, there is also a need to train and employ more taxonomists, particularly in the tropics and other species-rich areas. The public can help in this endeavor. In 2015, citizen scientists—volunteers participating in scientific projects—discovered 51 of 60 new dragonfly species from Africa that were described that year (Dijkstra et al., 2015).

    Measuring species diversity

    Species diversity is the number of different species in a particular area and their relative abundance. The area in question could be a habitat, a biome, or the entire biosphere. Areas with low species diversity, such as the glaciers of Antarctica, still contain a wide variety of living organisms, whereas the diversity of tropical rainforests is so great that it cannot be accurately assessed. Species richness, the number of species living in a habitat or other unit, is one component of biodiversity. Species evenness is a component of species diversity based on relative abundance (the number individuals in a species relative to the total number of individuals in all species within a system). Foundation species (see Ecosystem Types and Dynamics) often have the highest relative abundance of species. Two locations with the same richness do not necessarily have the same species evenness. For example, both communities in figure 7.7.2 have three different trees species and thus a species richness of three. However, there is a dominant species (represented by six individuals) in community #1. In community #2, there are three of individuals of each species. Therefore, community #2 has a greater species evenness and greater species diversity overall.

    Tree community #1 has six individuals of an irregularly branching species, one individual with densely packed leaves, and two conifers.

    Tree community #2 has three individuals each for the irregularly branching species, the species with densely packed leaves, and the conifer species.

    Figure 7.7.2: Two hypothetical tree communities have the same species richness, but community #2 (bottom) has a greater species evenness. Both communities have nine trees and three tree species. In community #1, one species is dominant, represented by six individuals. There are two individuals of a conifer species, and only one individual of the final species. In community #2, there are three individuals from each species. Images compiled by Melissa Ha from Alone tree George Hodan, Old Tree Silhouette, and Tree (all public domain).

    Biologists have developed three quantitative measures of species diversity as a means of measuring and comparing species diversity (Figure 7.7.3):

    • Alpha diversity (or species richness), the most commonly referenced measure of species diversity, refers to the total number of species found in a particular biological community, such as a lake or a forest.
    • Gamma diversity describes the total number of species that occur across an entire region, such as a mountain range or continent, that includes many ecosystems.
    • Beta diversity connects alpha and gamma diversity. It describes the rate at which species composition changes across a region. For example, if every wetland in a region was inhabited by a similar suite of plant species, then the region would have low beta diversity; in contrast, if several wetlands in a region had plants communities that were distinct and had little overlap with one another, the region would have high beta diversity. Beta diversity is calculated as gamma diversity divided by alpha diversity.
    Fig_3.7.png
    Figure 7.7.3 Biodiversity indices for nine mountain peaks across three ecoregions. Each symbol represents a different species; some species have populations on only one peak, while others are found on two or more peaks. The variation in species richness on each peak results in different alpha, gamma, and beta diversity values for each ecoregion. This variation has implications for how we divide limited resources to maximize protection. If only one ecoregion can be protected, ecoregion 3 may be a good choice because it has high gamma (total) diversity. However, if only one peak can be protected, should a peak in ecoregion 1 (with many widespread species) or ecoregion 3 (with several unique, range-restricted species) be protected? After Primack, 2012, CC BY 4.0.

    It is important to note that alpha, beta, and gamma diversity describe only part of what is meant by biodiversity. For example, none of these three terms completely account for genetic diversity, which allows species to adapt as conditions change. It also neglects the importance of ecosystem diversity, which results from the collective response of species to their dynamic environment. However, these diversity measures are useful for comparing different regions, and identifying locations with high concentrations of native species that should be protected.

    How many species exist?

    To date, taxonomists have described about 1.5 million species that share this planet with us (Costello et al., 2012). While this total may seem impressive, available evidence suggests that this estimate vastly underestimates the true extent of Earth’s biodiversity. In fact, even now, after all the exploration in years gone by, several thousand new species are being described each year.

    The most exciting and newsworthy discoveries of new species generally involve higher-level taxa, especially living fossils. For example, in 1938, biologists across the world were stunned by the report of a strange fish caught in the Indian Ocean off South Africa. This fish, subsequently named coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae, CR), belongs to a group of marine fishes that were common in ancient seas but were thought to have gone extinct 65 million years ago. Coelacanths are of interest to evolutionary biologists because they show certain features of muscles and bones in their fins that are comparable to the limbs of the first vertebrates that crawled onto land. Following the initial discovery, coelacanths have been found along Africa’s Indian Ocean coast from South Africa to the Comoros and through to Kenya. Unfortunately, the entire coelacanth population, estimated at fewer than 500 individuals, is currently highly threatened because of ongoing fishing pressures (Musick, 2000).

    Estimates suggest there are somewhere between 1–6 billion distinct species on Earth. The most diverse group of species is bacteria.

    The presence of so many undiscovered species and communities makes precise estimates of species diversity incredibly difficult, especially in locations that remain scientifically unexplored. Our most recent estimates, combining genetic analysis of well-known groups with mathematical patterns, suggests there are between 1–6 billion distinct species on Earth (Table 7.7.1) of which there are only about 163 million animals and 340 thousand plants (Larsen et al., 2017)—this is obviously much greater than the current catalog of 1.5 million species! Given the amount of new species that continue to hide in plain sight, so to speak, there is no doubt that a great number of species and communities are waiting to be discovered over the next several decades. A 2011 study suggests that only 13% of eukaryotic species (such as plants, animals, fungi, and algae) have been named. Estimates of numbers of prokaryotic species (such as bacteria) are largely guesses, but biologists agree that science has only just begun to catalog their diversity. Given that Earth is losing species at an accelerating pace, science knows little about what is being lost.

    Table 7.7.1 Estimated living biomass and number of species for each kingdom of life, following the seven-kingdom system (Ruggiero et al., 2015). Note how plants weigh the most, but bacteria have the most species.

    Kingdom

    Weight (Gt)

    Number of species (in million)

    % of all species

    Number of described species

    % of described species

    Animals

    2

    163

    7

    1,205,336

    < 1

    Fungi

    12

    165

    7

    135,110

    < 0.1

    Plants

    450

    0.382c

    < 0.5

    364,009

    95

    Chromista

    Unknown

    0.025c

    < 0.5

    23,428

    94

    Protozoans

    4

    163

    7

    2,686

    0.1

    Archaea

    7

    0.0005

    < 0.5

    377

    75

    Bacteria

    70

    1,746

    78

    9,982

    0.1

    a As gigatonnes of carbon, from Bar-On et al., 2018

    b From Larsen et al. (2017)’s Table 1, Scenario 1

    c From http://www.catalogueoflife.org

    There are various initiatives to catalog described species in accessible and more organized ways, and the internet is facilitating that effort. Nevertheless, at the current rate of species description, which according to the State of Observed Species reports is 17,000–20,000 new species a year, it would take close to 500 years to describe all of the species currently in existence. The task, however, is becoming increasingly impossible over time as extinction removes species from Earth faster than they can be described.

    Naming and counting species may seem an unimportant pursuit given the other needs of humanity, but it is not simply an accounting. Describing species is a complex process by which biologists determine an organism’s unique characteristics and whether or not that organism belongs to any other described species. It allows biologists to find and recognize the species after the initial discovery to follow up on questions about its biology. That subsequent research will produce the discoveries that make the species valuable to humans and to our ecosystems. Without a name and description, a species cannot be studied in depth and in a coordinated way by multiple scientists.

    Where are most species found?

    Because it is so hard to obtain accurate estimates of species numbers, many conservation biologists have recently started to focus their efforts on understanding and planning around patterns of species diversity. This makes sense: regions with many species of one taxon tend to also have many species of other taxa, so protecting one diverse group of species will likely also protect many other species, even if those other species are not well understood.

    By examining all these patterns of species diversity across the world, biologists have discovered at least two general frameworks governing species richness. The first framework is that stable ecosystems usually have many species, while ecosystems that were subjected to more recent glaciation usually have fewer species. This observation explains why tropical ecosystems are generally considered the world’s most species-rich environments. While tropical grasslands, wetlands, and other ecosystems all hold relatively high species diversity, species richness of tropical forests are particularly noteworthy; even though these areas occupy only about 7% of Earth’s land surface, they contain over half of the world’s species (Corlett and Primack, 2010). This is, in a large part, due to the relatively large global distribution of the tropical forests and the diversity of geological history between these areas of South and Central America, Africa, Asia, and Australia, which has resulted in unique assemblages of species that have evolved in isolation from each other.

    Tropical forests are not the only species-rich tropical ecosystem. Tropical coral reefs, colonies of tiny aquatic invertebrates that form entire ecosystems (Figure 7.7.4), are the marine equivalent of tropical forests both in terms of species richness and complexity. These areas not only provide homes for corals, but also for huge numbers of fish, molluscs, and marine mammals that find shelter in these highly productive and sheltered ecosystems.

    Fig_3.8_Karim-2.jpg
    Figure 7.7.4 Coral reefs such as this one at Zanzibar’s Mnemba Atoll, off the north coast of Tanzania, are highly diverse underwater ecosystems composed of the accumulated skeletons of billions of tiny marine invertebrates. These underwater landscapes provide habitat for at least 25% of all marine species. Photograph by Kamal Karim, https://www.flickr.com/photos/118534047@N06/22449100152, CC BY 2.0.

    High levels of species diversity, especially among plants, can also be found in ecosystems with a Mediterranean climate, such as southwestern Africa, as well as southwestern Australia, California, central Chile, and the Mediterranean Basin of southern Europe and North Africa. The climate of a Mediterranean-type ecosystem is characterized by cool, moist winters, hot, dry summers, resulting in distinctive plant adaptations such as short twigs and stiff leaves. A combination of special environmental factors, including a considerably old geological age, complex site characteristics (such as varied topography and soils), and frequent fires facilitated rapid speciation and helped to prevent any one species from dominating. Today, although regions with a Mediterranean climate cover only 2% of Earth’s surface, 20% of all plant species are found here (Underwood et al., 2009).

    The second framework governing pattern of species diversity is that locations with high numbers of species usually hold many endemic species.

    Biogeographic transition zones—also known as ecotones—regions where different ecosystems meet and overlap, are a special case of areas that contain great species diversity and high levels of endemicity. These areas share environmental factors of two or more environments, allowing for the mixture of biodiversity from those component environments, while unique features within these areas often also give rise to unique species.

    Today is an exciting time of biological exploration. Methods and technologies for exploration are improving rapidly, and we are learning more about the value and function the diversity of life on Earth. As genetic techniques advance and become more accessible, an increasing number of people are participating in recording the presence of species in locations around the world; this includes amateur naturalists and citizen scientists who contribute to bird surveys, plant walks, and other natural history activities. With this increased knowledge of biodiversity also comes an acute awareness that human activities damage ecosystems and reduce diversity. Hopefully this broader awareness will spur more people to take responsibility to protect and restore that biodiversity.


    This page titled 7.7: Patterns of Biodiversity is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by John W. Wilson & Richard B. Primack (Open Book Publishers) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.