Delayed biodiversity change: no time to waste

Franz Essl; Stefan Dullinger; Wolfgang Rabitsch; Philip E Hulme; Petr Pyšek; John R U Wilson; David M Richardson

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2015.05.002

Delayed biodiversity change: no time to waste

Trends Ecol Evol. 2015 Jul;30(7):375-8. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2015.05.002. Epub 2015 May 29.

Authors

Franz Essl¹, Stefan Dullinger², Wolfgang Rabitsch³, Philip E Hulme⁴, Petr Pyšek⁵, John R U Wilson⁶, David M Richardson⁷

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa; Environment Agency Austria, Spittelauer Lände 5, 1090 Vienna, Austria; Division of Conservation Biology, Vegetation and Landscape Ecology, Faculty Centre of Biodiversity, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, 1030 Vienna, Austria. Electronic address: franz.essl@univie.ac.at.
² Division of Conservation Biology, Vegetation and Landscape Ecology, Faculty Centre of Biodiversity, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, 1030 Vienna, Austria.
³ Environment Agency Austria, Spittelauer Lände 5, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
⁴ The Bio-Protection Research Centre, Lincoln University, PO Box 84850, Canterbury, New Zealand.
⁵ Institute of Botany, Department of Invasion Ecology, The Czech Academy of Sciences, 252 43 Průhonice, Czech Republic; Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, 128 44 Praha 2, Czech Republic.
⁶ Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa; South African National Biodiversity Institute, Kirstenbosch Research Centre, Claremont, 7735, South Africa.
⁷ Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa.

PMID: 26028440
DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2015.05.002

Abstract

Delayed biodiversity responses to environmental forcing mean that rates of contemporary biodiversity changes are underestimated, yet these delays are rarely addressed in conservation policies. Here, we identify mechanisms that lead to such time lags, discuss shifting human perceptions, and propose how these phenomena should be addressed in biodiversity management and science.

Keywords: extinction debt; global change; management; relaxation time; shifting baselines; time lags.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Biodiversity*
Climate Change*
Conservation of Natural Resources*
Ecosystem*
Extinction, Biological*
Humans
Population Dynamics