Contrasting diversity patterns of breeding Anatidae in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres

For sustaining ecosystem functions and services, environmental conservation strategies increasingly target to maintain the multiple facets of biodiversity, such as functional diversity (FD) and phylogenetic diversity (PD), not just taxonomic diversity (TD). However, spatial mismatches among these components of biodiversity can impose challenges for conservation decisions. Hence, understanding the drivers of biodiversity is critical. Here, we investigated the global distribution patterns of TD, FD and PD of breeding Anatidae. Using null models, we clarified the relative importance of mechanisms that influence Anatidae community. We also developed Random Forest models to evaluate the effects of environmental variables on the Anatidae TD, FD and PD. Our results showed that geographic variation in Anatidae diversity is hemispheric rather than latitudinal. In the species-rich Northern Hemisphere (NH), the three diversity indices decreased with latitude within the tropical zone of the NH, but...