ABSTRACT Aim To analyse if the historical species description process in 10 animal groups differe... more ABSTRACT Aim To analyse if the historical species description process in 10 animal groups differed among widespread and endemic species and to evaluate whether our current knowledge about the diversity of these groups is complete. Location Sixty-nine terrestrial regions (countries, large islands, archipelagos) covering all of Europe. Methods Based on data from the Fauna Europaea project, we reconstructed the description histories of four vertebrate groups (amphibians, fish, mammals, reptiles) and six well-studied invertebrate groups (butterflies, grasshoppers, ground beetles, snails, spiders, true bugs) living in terrestrial and freshwater environments. We used accelerated failure time models to test for a possible delay of endemic species detection and to provide conservative estimates of the as yet undescribed proportions of the existing diversity. Results Our data set includes 24,092 species, of which 7202 (30%) are endemic to one Fauna Europaea region. Species descriptions over time follow different trajectories for endemic and widespread species,with endemic species being described 79 years later than widespread ones, on average. Rates of widespread species descriptions have been low throughout the 20th century despite increasing numbers of active taxonomists, and models indicate that only a minor fraction of extant species is unknown (0.4–3%). By contrast, endemic species accumulation curves do not seem to have levelled off yet. Conservative model predictions suggest that up to 19% of the existing endemic diversity still awaits description in some taxonomic groups. Conclusions Our results suggest that even for well-studied groups in the world’s biogeographically best-known continent, scientific knowledge of species richness is far from complete and is biased towards widespread species. Research and conservation priorities may thus be misdirected, as, for example, regions with high numbers of as yet unrecognized endemics may not be adequately considered when setting conservation priorities. This is particularly problematic as their mostly small populations make endemic species especially vulnerable to human-induced pressures.
In Europe, a unique alien species inventory with almost 11.000 alien species was established in 2... more In Europe, a unique alien species inventory with almost 11.000 alien species was established in 2009 through the EU funded Delivering Alien Invasive Species Inventories for Europe (DAISIE) project (http://www. europe-aliens. org). Several high impact publications as well as ground-breaking handbook (DAISIE 2009) documented alarming trends of increasing numbers of newly introduced and naturalized/established species across all groups of organisms. These data enabled to analyse various aspects of invasions at large ...
The European Union's (EU) new legislation concerning Invasive Alien Species (IAS) is a gr... more The European Union's (EU) new legislation concerning Invasive Alien Species (IAS) is a groundbreaking and commendable attempt to set a common standard for combating IAS across political jurisdictions at a multinational scale. However, the regulation, underpinned by a list of IAS of Union concern, affords Member States a degree of operational flexibility and its successful implementation will be dictated by appropriate national enforcement and resource use. In evaluating this EU legislation, we provide pragmatic recommendations based upon a geo-political analysis of the pan-European capabilities to combat IAS and discuss measures to avoid the risk that the regulation will promote a piecemeal response by stakeholders instead of a truly collaborative effort. We highlight a major deficit in the funding mechanisms to support a comprehensive implementation of the legislation and stress the importance of consultation with the broader scientific community, including with key stakeholders, businesses and the general public. Our recommendations will create incentives for industries, raise awareness among citizens and stakeholders, and help establish a social norm for the EU and further afield. The legislation offers a collaborative Europe the chance to demonstrate its commitment to tackling the problems of IAS and to achieve a successful conservation breakthrough of international importance.
Biological invasions can be associated with shifts of the species' climatic niches but the in... more Biological invasions can be associated with shifts of the species' climatic niches but the incidence of such shifts is under debate. The reproductive system might be a key factor controlling such shifts because it influences a species' evolutionary flexibility. However, the link between reproductive systems and niche dynamics in plant invasions has been little studied so far. We compiled global occurrence data sets of 13 congeneric sexual and apomictic species pairs, and used principal components analysis (PCA) and kernel smoothers to compare changes in climatic niche optima, breadths and unfilling/expansion between native and alien ranges. Niche change metrics were compared between sexual and apomictic species. All 26 species showed changes in niche optima and/or breadth and 14 species significantly expanded their climatic niches. However, we found no effect of the reproductive system on niche dynamics. Instead, species with narrower native niches showed higher rates of nic...
ABSTRACT Aim To analyse if the historical species description process in 10 animal groups differe... more ABSTRACT Aim To analyse if the historical species description process in 10 animal groups differed among widespread and endemic species and to evaluate whether our current knowledge about the diversity of these groups is complete. Location Sixty-nine terrestrial regions (countries, large islands, archipelagos) covering all of Europe. Methods Based on data from the Fauna Europaea project, we reconstructed the description histories of four vertebrate groups (amphibians, fish, mammals, reptiles) and six well-studied invertebrate groups (butterflies, grasshoppers, ground beetles, snails, spiders, true bugs) living in terrestrial and freshwater environments. We used accelerated failure time models to test for a possible delay of endemic species detection and to provide conservative estimates of the as yet undescribed proportions of the existing diversity. Results Our data set includes 24,092 species, of which 7202 (30%) are endemic to one Fauna Europaea region. Species descriptions over time follow different trajectories for endemic and widespread species,with endemic species being described 79 years later than widespread ones, on average. Rates of widespread species descriptions have been low throughout the 20th century despite increasing numbers of active taxonomists, and models indicate that only a minor fraction of extant species is unknown (0.4–3%). By contrast, endemic species accumulation curves do not seem to have levelled off yet. Conservative model predictions suggest that up to 19% of the existing endemic diversity still awaits description in some taxonomic groups. Conclusions Our results suggest that even for well-studied groups in the world’s biogeographically best-known continent, scientific knowledge of species richness is far from complete and is biased towards widespread species. Research and conservation priorities may thus be misdirected, as, for example, regions with high numbers of as yet unrecognized endemics may not be adequately considered when setting conservation priorities. This is particularly problematic as their mostly small populations make endemic species especially vulnerable to human-induced pressures.
In Europe, a unique alien species inventory with almost 11.000 alien species was established in 2... more In Europe, a unique alien species inventory with almost 11.000 alien species was established in 2009 through the EU funded Delivering Alien Invasive Species Inventories for Europe (DAISIE) project (http://www. europe-aliens. org). Several high impact publications as well as ground-breaking handbook (DAISIE 2009) documented alarming trends of increasing numbers of newly introduced and naturalized/established species across all groups of organisms. These data enabled to analyse various aspects of invasions at large ...
The European Union's (EU) new legislation concerning Invasive Alien Species (IAS) is a gr... more The European Union's (EU) new legislation concerning Invasive Alien Species (IAS) is a groundbreaking and commendable attempt to set a common standard for combating IAS across political jurisdictions at a multinational scale. However, the regulation, underpinned by a list of IAS of Union concern, affords Member States a degree of operational flexibility and its successful implementation will be dictated by appropriate national enforcement and resource use. In evaluating this EU legislation, we provide pragmatic recommendations based upon a geo-political analysis of the pan-European capabilities to combat IAS and discuss measures to avoid the risk that the regulation will promote a piecemeal response by stakeholders instead of a truly collaborative effort. We highlight a major deficit in the funding mechanisms to support a comprehensive implementation of the legislation and stress the importance of consultation with the broader scientific community, including with key stakeholders, businesses and the general public. Our recommendations will create incentives for industries, raise awareness among citizens and stakeholders, and help establish a social norm for the EU and further afield. The legislation offers a collaborative Europe the chance to demonstrate its commitment to tackling the problems of IAS and to achieve a successful conservation breakthrough of international importance.
Biological invasions can be associated with shifts of the species' climatic niches but the in... more Biological invasions can be associated with shifts of the species' climatic niches but the incidence of such shifts is under debate. The reproductive system might be a key factor controlling such shifts because it influences a species' evolutionary flexibility. However, the link between reproductive systems and niche dynamics in plant invasions has been little studied so far. We compiled global occurrence data sets of 13 congeneric sexual and apomictic species pairs, and used principal components analysis (PCA) and kernel smoothers to compare changes in climatic niche optima, breadths and unfilling/expansion between native and alien ranges. Niche change metrics were compared between sexual and apomictic species. All 26 species showed changes in niche optima and/or breadth and 14 species significantly expanded their climatic niches. However, we found no effect of the reproductive system on niche dynamics. Instead, species with narrower native niches showed higher rates of nic...
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Papers by Franz Essl