The Darwinian shortfall in plants: phylogenetic knowledge is driven by range size

Alexander V. Rudbeck; Miao Sun; Melanie Tietje; Rachael V. Gallagher; Rafaël Govaerts; Stephen A. Smith; Jens Christian Svenning; Wolf L. Eiserhardt

doi:10.1111/ecog.06142

The Darwinian shortfall in plants: phylogenetic knowledge is driven by range size

Alexander V. Rudbeck^*, Miao Sun, Melanie Tietje, Rachael V. Gallagher, Rafaël Govaerts, Stephen A. Smith, Jens Christian Svenning, Wolf L. Eiserhardt^*

^*Corresponding author af dette arbejde

Institut for Biologi - Økoinformatik og biodiversitet

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift/Konferencebidrag i tidsskrift /Bidrag til avis › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › peer review

Abstract

The Darwinian shortfall, i.e. the lack of knowledge of phylogenetic relationships, significantly impedes our understanding of evolutionary drivers of global patterns of biodiversity. Spatial bias in the Darwinian shortfall, where phylogenetic knowledge in some regions is more complete than others, could undermine eco- and biogeographic inferences. Yet, spatial biases in phylogenetic knowledge for major groups – such as plants – remain poorly understood. Using data for 337 023 species (99.7%) of seed plants (Spermatophyta), we produced a global map of phylogenetic knowledge based on regional data and tested several potential drivers of the observed spatial variation. Regional phylogenetic knowledge was defined as the proportion of the regional seed plant flora represented in GenBank's nucleotide database with phylogenetically relevant data. We used simultaneous autoregressive models to explain variation in phylogenetic knowledge based on three biodiversity variables (species richness, range size and endemism) and six socioeconomic variables representing funding and accessibility. We compared observed patterns and relationships to established patterns of the Wallacean shortfall (the lack of knowledge of species distributions). We found that the Darwinian shortfall is strongly and significantly related to the macroecological distribution of species' range sizes. Small-ranged species were significantly less likely to have phylogenetic data, leading to a concentration of the Darwinian shortfall in species-rich, tropical countries where range sizes are small on average. Socioeconomic factors were less important, with significant but quantitatively small effects of accessibility and funding. In conclusion, reducing the Darwinian shortfall and smoothen its spatial bias will require increased efforts to sequence the world's small-ranged (endemic) species.

Originalsprog	Engelsk
Artikelnummer	e06142
Tidsskrift	Ecography
Vol/bind	2022
Nummer	8
Antal sider	12
ISSN	0906-7590
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.06142
Status	Udgivet - aug. 2022

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10.1111/ecog.06142Licens: CC BY

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title = "The Darwinian shortfall in plants: phylogenetic knowledge is driven by range size",

abstract = "The Darwinian shortfall, i.e. the lack of knowledge of phylogenetic relationships, significantly impedes our understanding of evolutionary drivers of global patterns of biodiversity. Spatial bias in the Darwinian shortfall, where phylogenetic knowledge in some regions is more complete than others, could undermine eco- and biogeographic inferences. Yet, spatial biases in phylogenetic knowledge for major groups – such as plants – remain poorly understood. Using data for 337 023 species (99.7%) of seed plants (Spermatophyta), we produced a global map of phylogenetic knowledge based on regional data and tested several potential drivers of the observed spatial variation. Regional phylogenetic knowledge was defined as the proportion of the regional seed plant flora represented in GenBank's nucleotide database with phylogenetically relevant data. We used simultaneous autoregressive models to explain variation in phylogenetic knowledge based on three biodiversity variables (species richness, range size and endemism) and six socioeconomic variables representing funding and accessibility. We compared observed patterns and relationships to established patterns of the Wallacean shortfall (the lack of knowledge of species distributions). We found that the Darwinian shortfall is strongly and significantly related to the macroecological distribution of species' range sizes. Small-ranged species were significantly less likely to have phylogenetic data, leading to a concentration of the Darwinian shortfall in species-rich, tropical countries where range sizes are small on average. Socioeconomic factors were less important, with significant but quantitatively small effects of accessibility and funding. In conclusion, reducing the Darwinian shortfall and smoothen its spatial bias will require increased efforts to sequence the world's small-ranged (endemic) species.",

keywords = "biodiversity, Darwinian shortfall, data bias, knowledge gaps, phylogenetic knowledge, plant phylogeny, socioeconomics, spatial bias, Spermatophyta",

author = "Rudbeck, {Alexander V.} and Miao Sun and Melanie Tietje and Gallagher, {Rachael V.} and Rafa{\"e}l Govaerts and Smith, {Stephen A.} and Svenning, {Jens Christian} and Eiserhardt, {Wolf L.}",

year = "2022",

month = aug,

doi = "10.1111/ecog.06142",

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journal = "Ecography",

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T1 - The Darwinian shortfall in plants

T2 - phylogenetic knowledge is driven by range size

AU - Rudbeck, Alexander V.

AU - Sun, Miao

AU - Tietje, Melanie

AU - Gallagher, Rachael V.

AU - Govaerts, Rafaël

AU - Smith, Stephen A.

AU - Svenning, Jens Christian

AU - Eiserhardt, Wolf L.

PY - 2022/8

Y1 - 2022/8

N2 - The Darwinian shortfall, i.e. the lack of knowledge of phylogenetic relationships, significantly impedes our understanding of evolutionary drivers of global patterns of biodiversity. Spatial bias in the Darwinian shortfall, where phylogenetic knowledge in some regions is more complete than others, could undermine eco- and biogeographic inferences. Yet, spatial biases in phylogenetic knowledge for major groups – such as plants – remain poorly understood. Using data for 337 023 species (99.7%) of seed plants (Spermatophyta), we produced a global map of phylogenetic knowledge based on regional data and tested several potential drivers of the observed spatial variation. Regional phylogenetic knowledge was defined as the proportion of the regional seed plant flora represented in GenBank's nucleotide database with phylogenetically relevant data. We used simultaneous autoregressive models to explain variation in phylogenetic knowledge based on three biodiversity variables (species richness, range size and endemism) and six socioeconomic variables representing funding and accessibility. We compared observed patterns and relationships to established patterns of the Wallacean shortfall (the lack of knowledge of species distributions). We found that the Darwinian shortfall is strongly and significantly related to the macroecological distribution of species' range sizes. Small-ranged species were significantly less likely to have phylogenetic data, leading to a concentration of the Darwinian shortfall in species-rich, tropical countries where range sizes are small on average. Socioeconomic factors were less important, with significant but quantitatively small effects of accessibility and funding. In conclusion, reducing the Darwinian shortfall and smoothen its spatial bias will require increased efforts to sequence the world's small-ranged (endemic) species.

AB - The Darwinian shortfall, i.e. the lack of knowledge of phylogenetic relationships, significantly impedes our understanding of evolutionary drivers of global patterns of biodiversity. Spatial bias in the Darwinian shortfall, where phylogenetic knowledge in some regions is more complete than others, could undermine eco- and biogeographic inferences. Yet, spatial biases in phylogenetic knowledge for major groups – such as plants – remain poorly understood. Using data for 337 023 species (99.7%) of seed plants (Spermatophyta), we produced a global map of phylogenetic knowledge based on regional data and tested several potential drivers of the observed spatial variation. Regional phylogenetic knowledge was defined as the proportion of the regional seed plant flora represented in GenBank's nucleotide database with phylogenetically relevant data. We used simultaneous autoregressive models to explain variation in phylogenetic knowledge based on three biodiversity variables (species richness, range size and endemism) and six socioeconomic variables representing funding and accessibility. We compared observed patterns and relationships to established patterns of the Wallacean shortfall (the lack of knowledge of species distributions). We found that the Darwinian shortfall is strongly and significantly related to the macroecological distribution of species' range sizes. Small-ranged species were significantly less likely to have phylogenetic data, leading to a concentration of the Darwinian shortfall in species-rich, tropical countries where range sizes are small on average. Socioeconomic factors were less important, with significant but quantitatively small effects of accessibility and funding. In conclusion, reducing the Darwinian shortfall and smoothen its spatial bias will require increased efforts to sequence the world's small-ranged (endemic) species.

KW - biodiversity

KW - Darwinian shortfall

KW - data bias

KW - knowledge gaps

KW - phylogenetic knowledge

KW - plant phylogeny

KW - socioeconomics

KW - spatial bias

KW - Spermatophyta

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U2 - 10.1111/ecog.06142

DO - 10.1111/ecog.06142

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85131534582

SN - 0906-7590

VL - 2022

JO - Ecography

JF - Ecography

IS - 8

M1 - e06142

ER -

The Darwinian shortfall in plants: phylogenetic knowledge is driven by range size

Abstract

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