Summary
The Anthropocene is characterized by human use of resources and the climate changing fast across the planet. Using time series in the BioTIME database, we ask how biodiversity has changed in this period. The picture that emerges is complex. Turnover in species composition emerges as the most prevalent signal of biodiversity change, underpinned by a balance of colonizations and extinctions, as well increasing and decreasing population trends. But balanced change does not imply a simple shuffling of species. The identities of winners and losers show important patterns regarding biotic homogenization, and shifts in body size, as well as implications for ecosystem function.
Brief biography
Maria Dornelas is a macroecologist studying biodiversity change in the Anthropocene. Her research includes synthesis of biodiversity data, theoretical ecology and the empirical quantification of diversity and ecological function. She has been conducting fieldwork in tropical reefs for over 25 years. She co-leads the biodiversity time series database BioTIME. She is a Professor at the University of Lisbon, and a member of the Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
*With funding from the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2024-001494-S) from AEI 10.13039/501100011033