Data from: Recent extinctions disturb path to equilibrium diversity in Caribbean bats

Islands are ideal systems to reconstruct changes in biodiversity and reveal the influence of humans on natural communities. While theory predicts biodiversity on islands tends towards equilibrium, the recent extinction of large proportions of island biotas complicates testing this model. The well-preserved subfossil record of Caribbean bats provides a rare opportunity to model diversity dynamics in an insular community. Here we reconstruct the diversity trajectory in noctilionoid bats of the Greater Antilles by applying a dynamic model of colonisation, extinction and speciation to phylogenetic and paleontological data. We show species richness asymptotes to an equilibrium value, demonstrating natural equilibrium dynamics across an entire community. However, recent extinctions have wiped out nearly a third of island lineages, dragging diversity away from equilibrium. Using a metric to measure island biodiversity loss, we estimate it will take at least eight million years to regain pre-human diversity levels. Our integrative approach reveals how anthropogenic extinctions can drastically alter the natural trajectory of biological communities.

岛屿是重建生物多样性变化、揭示人类对自然群落影响的理想研究系统。尽管理论预测岛屿生物多样性通常会趋于平衡状态，但近期岛屿生物类群的大规模灭绝却使得该模型的验证工作变得复杂。保存完好的加勒比海蝙蝠亚化石记录，为岛屿群落的生物多样性动态建模提供了难得的契机。本研究将定殖、灭绝与物种形成的动态模型应用于系统发育与古生物数据，重建了大安的列斯群岛叶口蝠总科蝙蝠（noctilionoid bats）的多样性演化轨迹。研究结果显示，物种丰富度最终会趋近于平衡值，表明整个自然群落确实存在自然平衡动态过程。然而，近期的灭绝事件已使近三分之一的岛屿支系彻底消失，导致生物多样性偏离平衡状态。通过采用衡量岛屿生物多样性丧失的量化指标，本研究估算，要恢复至人类活动前的生物多样性水平，至少需要800万年的时间。本整合研究方法清晰揭示了人为灭绝事件可如何剧烈改变生物群落的自然演化轨迹。