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Correlates of extinction proneness in tropical angiosperms

Correlates of extinction proneness in tropical angiosperms
Correlates of extinction proneness in tropical angiosperms
Rapid losses and degradation of natural habitats in the tropics are driving catastrophic declines and extinctions of native biotas, including angiosperms. Determining the ecological and life-history correlates of extinction proneness in tropical plant species may help reveal the mechanisms underlying their responses to habitat disturbance, and assist in the pre-emptive identification of species at risk from extinction. We determined the predictors of extinction proneness in 1884 locally extinct (n = 454) and extant (n = 1430) terrestrial angiosperms (belonging to 43 orders, 133 families, and 689 genera) in the tropical island nation of Singapore (699.4 km2), which has lost 99.6% of its primary lowland evergreen rainforest since 1819. A wide variety of traits such as geographical distribution, pollination system, sexual system, habit, habitat, height, fruit/seed dispersal mechanism, and capacity for vegetative re-sprouting were used in the analysis. Despite controlling for phylogeny (as approximated by family level classification), we found that only a small percentage of the variation in the extinction probability could be explained by these factors. Epiphytic, monoecious, and hermaphroditic species and those restricted to inland forests have higher probabilities of extinction. Species dependent on mammal pollinators also probably have higher extinction probabilities. More comparative studies that use species traits to identify extinction-prone plant species are needed to guide the enormous, but essential task of identifying species most in need of conservation action.
1366-9516
1-10
Sodhi, N.S.
91de1d4b-392d-4d8c-8541-49dda5ff3faa
Koh, L.P.
c41a4b8a-39ce-462e-9c04-6e13fba4b7bb
Peh, Kelvin S.-H.
0bd60207-dad8-43fb-a84a-a15e09b024cc
Tan, H.T.W.
8e0f86b1-5ce0-4c3c-8393-0f3bb1bb05b9
Chazdon, R.L.
b844681f-6fe1-4d67-aa41-6cc6e028d2a2
Corlett, R.T.
da2437b9-b6cd-4462-902f-0bc618b70b61
Lee, T.M.
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Colwell, R.K.
b9382eb5-7c04-4999-bece-e3d4e7ff3943
Bradshaw, C.J.A.
0fd68d03-d3d4-45c3-b13d-e5003b564bd7
Brook, B.W.
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Sekercioglu, C.H.
7564d049-b7b6-4811-b80f-02d8c87f4d56
Sodhi, N.S.
91de1d4b-392d-4d8c-8541-49dda5ff3faa
Koh, L.P.
c41a4b8a-39ce-462e-9c04-6e13fba4b7bb
Peh, Kelvin S.-H.
0bd60207-dad8-43fb-a84a-a15e09b024cc
Tan, H.T.W.
8e0f86b1-5ce0-4c3c-8393-0f3bb1bb05b9
Chazdon, R.L.
b844681f-6fe1-4d67-aa41-6cc6e028d2a2
Corlett, R.T.
da2437b9-b6cd-4462-902f-0bc618b70b61
Lee, T.M.
7caa1a11-cc1f-4f27-b142-600a74dcc697
Colwell, R.K.
b9382eb5-7c04-4999-bece-e3d4e7ff3943
Bradshaw, C.J.A.
0fd68d03-d3d4-45c3-b13d-e5003b564bd7
Brook, B.W.
25e7c481-908d-4100-a1fd-b378ab874493
Sekercioglu, C.H.
7564d049-b7b6-4811-b80f-02d8c87f4d56

Sodhi, N.S., Koh, L.P., Peh, Kelvin S.-H., Tan, H.T.W., Chazdon, R.L., Corlett, R.T., Lee, T.M., Colwell, R.K., Bradshaw, C.J.A., Brook, B.W. and Sekercioglu, C.H. (2008) Correlates of extinction proneness in tropical angiosperms. Diversity and Distributions, 14 (1), 1-10. (doi:10.1111/j.1472-4642.2007.00398.x).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Rapid losses and degradation of natural habitats in the tropics are driving catastrophic declines and extinctions of native biotas, including angiosperms. Determining the ecological and life-history correlates of extinction proneness in tropical plant species may help reveal the mechanisms underlying their responses to habitat disturbance, and assist in the pre-emptive identification of species at risk from extinction. We determined the predictors of extinction proneness in 1884 locally extinct (n = 454) and extant (n = 1430) terrestrial angiosperms (belonging to 43 orders, 133 families, and 689 genera) in the tropical island nation of Singapore (699.4 km2), which has lost 99.6% of its primary lowland evergreen rainforest since 1819. A wide variety of traits such as geographical distribution, pollination system, sexual system, habit, habitat, height, fruit/seed dispersal mechanism, and capacity for vegetative re-sprouting were used in the analysis. Despite controlling for phylogeny (as approximated by family level classification), we found that only a small percentage of the variation in the extinction probability could be explained by these factors. Epiphytic, monoecious, and hermaphroditic species and those restricted to inland forests have higher probabilities of extinction. Species dependent on mammal pollinators also probably have higher extinction probabilities. More comparative studies that use species traits to identify extinction-prone plant species are needed to guide the enormous, but essential task of identifying species most in need of conservation action.

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More information

Published date: January 2008
Organisations: Centre for Biological Sciences

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 353032
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/353032
ISSN: 1366-9516
PURE UUID: 3c32da09-4043-4d91-b2e6-aaf44eb7f3ff
ORCID for Kelvin S.-H. Peh: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-2921-1341

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Date deposited: 23 May 2013 13:50
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:44

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Contributors

Author: N.S. Sodhi
Author: L.P. Koh
Author: H.T.W. Tan
Author: R.L. Chazdon
Author: R.T. Corlett
Author: T.M. Lee
Author: R.K. Colwell
Author: C.J.A. Bradshaw
Author: B.W. Brook
Author: C.H. Sekercioglu

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