Testing the Effectiveness of Environmental Variables to Explain European Terrestrial Vertebrate Species Richness across Biogeographical Scales.

We compared the effectiveness of environmental variables, and in particular of land-use indicators, to explain species richness patterns across taxonomic groups and biogeographical scales (i.e. overall pan-Europe and ecoregions within pan-Europe). Using boosted regression trees that handle non-linear relationships, we compared the relative influence (as a measure of effectiveness) of environmental variables related to climate, landscape (or habitat heterogeneity), land-use intensity or energy availability to explain European vertebrate species richness (birds, amphibians, and mammals) at the continental and ecoregion scales. We found that dominant land cover and actual evapotranspiration that relate to energy availability were the main correlates of vertebrate species richness over Europe. At the ecoregion scale, we identified four distinct groups of ecoregions where species richness was essentially associated to (i) seasonality of temperature, (ii) actual evapotranspiration and/or mean annual temperature, (iii) seasonality of precipitation, actual evapotranspiration and land cover) and (iv) and an even combination of the environmental variables. This typology of ecoregions remained valid for total vertebrate richness and the three vertebrate groups taken separately. Despite the overwhelming influence of land cover and actual evapotranspiration to explain vertebrate species richness patterns at European scale, the ranking of the main correlates of species richness varied between regions. Interestingly, landscape and land-use indicators did not stand out at the continental scale but their influence greatly increased in southern ecoregions, revealing the long-lasting human footprint on land-use-land-cover changes. Our study provides one of the first multi-scale descriptions of the variability in the ranking of correlates across several taxa.

Spatial mismatch of phylogenetic diversity across three vertebrate groups and protected areas in Europe.

AIM: We investigate patterns of phylogenetic diversity in relation to species diversity for European birds, mammals and amphibians, to evaluate their congruence and highlight areas of particular evolutionary history. We estimate the extent to which the European network of protected areas (PAs) network retains interesting evolutionary history areas for the three groups separately and simultaneously. LOCATION: Europe. METHODS: Phylogenetic (QEPD) and species diversity (SD) were estimated using the Rao's quadratic entropy at 10' resolution. We determined the regional relationship between QEPD and SD for each taxa with a spatial regression model and used the tails of the residuals (QERES) distribution to identify areas of higher and lower QEPD than predicted. Spatial congruence of biodiversity between groups was assessed with Pearson's correlation. A simple classification scheme allowed building a convergence map where a convergent pixel equalled to a QERES value of the same sign for the 3 groups. This convergence map was overlaid to the current PAs network to estimate the level of protection in convergent pixels and compared it to a null expectation built on 1000 randomization of PAs over the landscape. RESULTS: QERES patterns across vertebrates show a strong spatial mismatch highlighting different evolutionary histories. Convergent areas represent only 2.7% of the Western Palearctic, with only 8.4% of these areas being covered by the current PAs network while a random distribution would retain 10.4% of them. QERES are unequally represented within PAs: areas with higher QEPD than predicted are better covered than expected, while low QEPD areas are undersampled. MAIN CONCLUSIONS: Patterns of diversity strongly diverge between groups of vertebrates in Europe. Although Europe has the world's most extensive PAs network, evolutionary history of terrestrial vertebrates is unequally protected. The challenge is now to reconcile effective conservation planning with a contemporary view of biodiversity integrating multiple facets.

The European functional tree of bird life in the face of global change.

Despite the recognized joint impact of climate and land cover change on facets of biodiversity and their associated functions, risk assessments have primarily evaluated impacts on species ranges and richness. Here we quantify the sensitivity of the functional structure of European avian assemblages to changes in both regional climate and land cover. We combine species range forecasts with functional-trait information. We show that species sensitivity to environmental change is randomly distributed across the functional tree of the European avifauna and that functionally unique species are not disproportionately threatened by 2080. However, projected species range changes will modify the mean species richness and functional diversity of bird diets and feeding behaviours. This will unequally affect the spatial structure of functional diversity, leading to homogenization across Europe. Therefore, global changes may alter the functional structure of species assemblages in the future in ways that need to be accounted for in conservation planning.

Using phylogenies in conservation: new perspectives.

The 2011 meeting of the European Ecological Federation took place in Ávila, Spain, from 26th September to 29th September. The French Ecological Society (SFE) and the Foundation for Research on Biodiversity (FRB) sponsored a session entitled 'Evolutionary history, ecosystem function and conservation biology: new perspectives'. We report on the main insights obtained from this symposium.