Foundation Species Revisited: Citation Analysis of Ellison et al. 2005

Ecologists and environmental scientists often prioritize research efforts with conservation importance. Dominant, widespread, or locally abundant species at low risk of extinction receive relatively little attention unless they are invasive. Native foundation species create habitats and environmental conditions that support many associated species and modulate local-scale ecosystem processes, but the generally high local or regional abundance of foundation species may lead to less research about them. We used citation analysis (2005-2014) to examine research following from a suggestion to identify and study foundation species while they were still common and not threatened. We explored the use and expanding definition of the foundation species concept, as well as the trajectory and ecological focus of research on foundation species throughout the world in 378 papers published in this nine-year span. Contemporary authors who cite key papers defining a foundation species pay little attention to its actual definition and species studied in this context rarely were identified as foundation species. Although functions and roles of foundation species, such as creating unique microclimates or supporting dependent species, are being studied, less research is focused on identifying them before they are threatened or lost from the ecosystem that they otherwise define. Invasive species were identified as the most common threat to foundation species. Our citation analysis and synthesis provides a new conceptual framework linking identification of and research about foundation species with their functional roles and our ability to manage emerging threats to them.生态学家与环境科学家通常优先开展具有保护价值的研究工作。那些优势广布、本地常见且灭绝风险较低的物种，往往较少受到关注，除非它们属于入侵物种。本土基础物种（foundation species）能够构建生境与环境条件，支撑众多伴生物种，并调控局域尺度的生态系统过程，但基础物种通常在局地或区域内具有较高的丰度，这可能导致针对它们的研究相对匮乏。本研究采用2005-2014年的引文分析方法，针对“在基础物种仍属常见且未受威胁时便开展识别与研究”这一倡议所衍生的相关研究进行考察。我们对这9年间发表的378篇论文展开分析，探究了基础物种概念的应用与不断拓展的定义，以及全球范围内基础物种研究的发展轨迹与生态研究重心。当代引用奠基性基础物种定义文献的作者，往往并未关注其原始定义，且在此语境下所研究的物种也极少被界定为基础物种。尽管当前已有针对基础物种功能与角色的研究，例如构建独特微气候或支撑依赖物种，但针对在基础物种受到威胁或从其所维系的生态系统中消失前，先行识别它们的相关研究仍相对不足。研究结果显示，入侵物种是威胁基础物种最普遍的因素。本研究的引文分析与综合梳理工作，构建了一套全新的概念框架，将基础物种的识别与研究、其功能角色，以及人类应对其新兴威胁的能力三者联系起来。