Measuring avian specialization
Abstract Measuring the extent to which a species is specialized is a major challenge in ecology, with important repercussions for fundamental research as well as for applied ecology and conservation. Here, we develop a multidimensional index of specialization based on five sets of ecological charact...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2019-07-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5419 |
| _version_ | 1819178116773314560 |
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| author | Federico Morelli Yanina Benedetti Anders Pape Møller Richard A. Fuller |
| author_facet | Federico Morelli Yanina Benedetti Anders Pape Møller Richard A. Fuller |
| author_sort | Federico Morelli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Measuring the extent to which a species is specialized is a major challenge in ecology, with important repercussions for fundamental research as well as for applied ecology and conservation. Here, we develop a multidimensional index of specialization based on five sets of ecological characteristics of breeding bird species. We used two recent databases of species traits of European birds based on foraging ecology, habitat, and breeding characteristics. The indices of specialization were calculated by applying the Gini coefficient, an index of inequality. The Gini coefficient is a measure of statistical dispersion on a scale between 0 and 1, reflecting a gradient from low to high specialization, respectively. Finally, we tested the strength of the phylogenetic signal of each specialization index to understand how the variance of such indices is shared throughout the phylogeny. The methods for constructing and evaluating a multidimensional index of bird specialization could also be applied to other taxa and regions, offering a simple but useful tool, particularly suited for global or biogeographic studies, as a contribution to comparative estimates of the degree of specialization of species. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T21:37:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-80f4b631e3024cbf8e1303c72d8cee6e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T21:37:26Z |
| publishDate | 2019-07-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-80f4b631e3024cbf8e1303c72d8cee6e2022-12-21T18:11:41ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582019-07-019148378838610.1002/ece3.5419Measuring avian specializationFederico Morelli0Yanina Benedetti1Anders Pape Møller2Richard A. Fuller3Department of Applied Geoinformatics and Spatial Planning, Faculty of Environmental Sciences Czech University of Life Sciences Prague Prague Czech RepublicDepartment of Applied Geoinformatics and Spatial Planning, Faculty of Environmental Sciences Czech University of Life Sciences Prague Prague Czech RepublicEcologie Systématique Evolution Université Paris‐Sud, CNRS, AgroParisTech Université Saclay Orsay Cedex FranceSchool of Biological Sciences The University of Queensland St Lucia Queensland AustraliaAbstract Measuring the extent to which a species is specialized is a major challenge in ecology, with important repercussions for fundamental research as well as for applied ecology and conservation. Here, we develop a multidimensional index of specialization based on five sets of ecological characteristics of breeding bird species. We used two recent databases of species traits of European birds based on foraging ecology, habitat, and breeding characteristics. The indices of specialization were calculated by applying the Gini coefficient, an index of inequality. The Gini coefficient is a measure of statistical dispersion on a scale between 0 and 1, reflecting a gradient from low to high specialization, respectively. Finally, we tested the strength of the phylogenetic signal of each specialization index to understand how the variance of such indices is shared throughout the phylogeny. The methods for constructing and evaluating a multidimensional index of bird specialization could also be applied to other taxa and regions, offering a simple but useful tool, particularly suited for global or biogeographic studies, as a contribution to comparative estimates of the degree of specialization of species.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5419animal specializationbirdconservation ecologygeneralistphylogenetic signaltrait‐based approach |
| spellingShingle | Federico Morelli Yanina Benedetti Anders Pape Møller Richard A. Fuller Measuring avian specialization Ecology and Evolution animal specialization bird conservation ecology generalist phylogenetic signal trait‐based approach |
| title | Measuring avian specialization |
| title_full | Measuring avian specialization |
| title_fullStr | Measuring avian specialization |
| title_full_unstemmed | Measuring avian specialization |
| title_short | Measuring avian specialization |
| title_sort | measuring avian specialization |
| topic | animal specialization bird conservation ecology generalist phylogenetic signal trait‐based approach |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5419 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT federicomorelli measuringavianspecialization AT yaninabenedetti measuringavianspecialization AT anderspapemøller measuringavianspecialization AT richardafuller measuringavianspecialization |