Recent extinctions disturb path to equilibrium diversity in Caribbean bats
Recent extinctions disturb path to equilibrium diversity in Caribbean bats
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DOI：
10.1038/s41559-016-0026
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发表时间：
2017-01
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Luis Valente;R. Etienne;Liliana M. Dávalos
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Luis Valente;R. Etienne;Liliana M. Dávalos
岛屿是模拟生物多样性时间变化和揭示人类对自然群落影响的理想系统。虽然理论预测岛屿上的生物多样性趋向于一个平衡值，但最近大量岛屿生物的灭绝使这一模型的检验变得复杂。保存完好的加勒比蝙蝠亚化石记录——涉及多个岛屿辐射——为模拟岛屿群落的多样性动态提供了难得的机会。本文通过对大安的列斯群岛所有已知的已灭绝和现存物种的系统发育和古生物学数据，应用一个殖民化、灭绝和物种形成的动态模型，重建了大安的列斯群岛夜狐蝠的多样性轨迹。我们发现物种丰富度接近一个平衡值，证明了整个群落的自然平衡动态。然而，最近的物种灭绝——许多是由人类造成的——已经消灭了近三分之一的岛屿谱系，使多样性偏离了平衡。用一种度量方法来衡量岛屿生物多样性的丧失，我们估计至少需要800万年才能恢复到人类出现之前的多样性水平。我们的综合方法揭示了人为灭绝如何极大地改变生物群落的自然轨迹，导致进化不平衡。
Islands are ideal systems to model temporal changes in biodiversity and reveal the influence of humans on natural communities. Although theory predicts biodiversity on islands tends towards an equilibrium value, the recent extinction of large proportions of island biotas complicates testing this model. The well-preserved subfossil record of Caribbean bats—involving multiple insular radiations—provides a rare opportunity to model diversity dynamics in an insular community. Here, we reconstruct the diversity trajectory in noctilionoid bats of the Greater Antilles by applying a dynamic model of colonization, extinction and speciation to phylogenetic and palaeontological data including all known extinct and extant species. We show species richness asymptotes to an equilibrium value, a demonstration of natural equilibrium dynamics across an entire community. However, recent extinctions—many caused by humans—have wiped out nearly a third of island lineages, dragging diversity away from equilibrium. Using a metric to measure island biodiversity loss, we estimate it will take at least eight million years to regain pre-human diversity levels. Our integrative approach reveals how anthropogenic extinctions can drastically alter the natural trajectory of biological communities, resulting in evolutionary disequilibrium.