Data from: Biogeography of functional trait diversity in the Taiwanese reef fish fauna

The richness of Taiwanese reef fish species is inversely correlated to
latitude as a direct consequence of the abiotic environment and its
effects on benthic habitats. However, to date, no studies have
investigated the variations in the diversity of traits (FD) linked with
the role of these fishes in the ecosystem. FD is usually considered more
sensitive than species richness in detecting early changes in response to
disturbances, and therefore could serve as an indicator of ecological
resilience to environmental changes. Here, we aim to characterize FD in
the Taiwanese reef fish fauna and to document its regional variations. Six
traits were used to categorize the 1,484 reef fish species occurring in
four environmentally contrasted regions around Taiwan. The number of
unique trait combinations (FEs), their richness (FRic), their redundancy
(FR), their over-redundancy (FOR), and their vulnerability (FV) were
compared among these regions. Overall, 416 FEs were identified. Their
number decreased from south to north in step with regional species
richness but FRic remained similar among regions. FR and FOR were higher
to the south. At the local scale, variations in FEs and FRic are in
concordance with the worldwide pattern of FD. High-latitude, impoverished
fish assemblages, offer a range of trait combinations similar to
diversified tropical assemblages. Increasing diversity in the latter
mainly contributes to raising FR and supports already over-redundant
entities. High vulnerability makes many combinations highly sensitive to
species loss, and was higher at intermediate latitudes when using a fine
resolution in trait categories. It suggests that the loss of FEs may first
be characterized by an increase in their vulnerability, a pattern that
could have been overlooked in previous global scale analyses. Overall,
this study provides new insights into reef fish trait biogeography with
potential ramifications for ecosystem functioning.