Functional rarity of coral reef fishes at the global scale: Hotspots and challenges for conservation

• Published in: Biological conservation Vol. 226; pp. 288 - 299
• Main Authors: Grenié, Matthias, Mouillot, David, Villéger, Sébastien, Denelle, Pierre, Tucker, Caroline M., Munoz, François, Violle, Cyrille
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2018; Elsevier
• Subjects: Biodiversity facet; conservation areas; coral reefs; Coral triangle; ecosystems; Environmental Sciences; Evolutionary distinctiveness; fish; Functional distinctiveness; functional diversity; Funrar; Indo-Australian Archipelago; Life Sciences; prioritization; rare species; species richness; Indo-Australian Archipelago; Evolutionary distinctiveness; Coral triangle; Funrar; Functional distinctiveness; Biodiversity facet
• ISSN: 0006-3207; 1873-2917
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2018.08.011

Characterizing functional diversity has become central in ecological research and for biodiversity assessment. Understanding the role of species with rare traits, i.e. functionally rare species, in community assembly, ecosystem dynamics and functioning has recently gained momentum. However, functional rarity is still ignored in conservation strategies. Here, we quantified global functional and evolutionary rarity for 2073 species of coral reef fishes and compared the rarity values to IUCN Red List status. Most species were functionally common but geographically rare. However, we found very weak correlation between functional rarity and evolutionary rarity. Functional rarity was highest for species classified as not evaluated or threatened by the IUCN Red List. The location of functional rarity hotspots (Tropical Eastern Pacific) did not match hotspots of species richness and evolutionary distinctiveness (Indo-Australian Archipelago), nor the currently protected areas. We argue that functional rarity should be acknowledged for both species and site prioritization in conservation strategies. •Functional rarity (FR), the uncommonness of species traits, is neglected in biodiversity assessment.•Functionally rare coral reef fishes are not evolutionarily distinct.•FR hotspots of coral reef fishes spatially mismatch with species diversity hotspots.•FR of coral reef fish species is not related to IUCN status.•FR should be considered for species conservation prioritization.