Multidecadal changes in functional diversity lag behind the recovery of taxonomic diversity

1. While there has been increasing interest in how taxonomic diversity is changing over time, less is known about how long-term taxonomic changes may affect ecosystem functioning and resilience. Exploring long-term patterns of functional diversity can provide key insights into the capacity of a community to carry out ecological processes and the redundancy of species’ roles. 2. We focus on a protected freshwater system located in a national park in southeast Germany. We use a high-resolution benthic macroinvertebrate dataset spanning 32 years (1983 – 2014) and test if changes in functional diversity are reflected in taxonomic diversity using a multidimensional trait-based approach and regression analyses. Specifically, we asked: i) How has functional diversity changed over time? ii) How functionally distinct are the community’s taxa? iii) Are changes in functional diversity concurrent with taxonomic diversity? iv) What is the extent of community functional redundancy? 3. Resultant...1. 尽管学界对分类多样性（taxonomic diversity）随时间的变化趋势关注度与日俱增，但针对长期分类多样性变化如何影响生态系统功能与恢复力的研究仍相对匮乏。解析功能多样性（functional diversity）的长期变化模式，可为揭示群落执行生态过程的能力以及物种功能角色的冗余程度提供关键科学见解。 2. 本研究聚焦德国东南部一处国家公园内的受保护淡水生态系统。我们采用一套覆盖32年（1983年至2014年）的高分辨率底栖大型无脊椎动物（benthic macroinvertebrate）数据集，结合基于多维性状的研究方法与回归分析，检验功能多样性的变化是否可通过分类多样性的变化得以反映。具体而言，本研究旨在解答以下四个核心问题：① 功能多样性随时间发生了怎样的变化？② 群落内各分类单元的功能分化程度如何？③ 功能多样性的变化是否与分类多样性的变化同步？④ 群落的功能冗余程度处于何种水平？ 3. 研究结果……