Assessing taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity of giant clams across the Indo‐Pacific for conservation prioritization. (29th July 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Tan, Edwin Y. W.; Neo, Mei Lin; Huang, Danwei
• Is Part Of: Diversity & distributions. Volume 28:Number 10(2022)
• Page Start: 2124
• Page End: 2138
• Publication Date: 2022-07-29
• Subjects: biodiversity -- functional traits -- phylogeny -- species richness -- Tridacninae; Biodiversity -- Periodicals; Biodiversity conservation -- Periodicals; 577
• DOI: 10.1111/ddi.13609
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1366-9516

Abstract

Abstract: Aim: Giant clams are iconic bivalves known to serve numerous ecological roles contributing to the functioning of coral reef ecosystems. In the next decade, giant clams will continue to face critical anthropogenic pressures from over‐exploitation for their meat and shells, the aquarium trade and global warming that threaten the persistence of their species. Here, we assess the relationships between different biodiversity components to inform conservation prioritization and management. Location: Indo‐Pacific marine realm. Methods: We quantified taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity measures throughout 25 marine provinces and assessed their relationships for all 12 giant clam species in the subfamily Tridacninae. These biodiversity measures were used to identify potentially threatened species that contribute disproportionately to trait and evolutionary diversity and to highlight areas for global conservation prioritization of giant clam species. Results: Analyses show positive correlations among species richness (SR), functional diversity (FD) and phylogenetic diversity (PD), with the strongest relationship between FD and PD. However, spatial patterns of higher‐than‐expected FD and PD are incongruent with SR patterns, indicating that SR omits information associated with functional and phylogenetic diversity. Among the giant clam species, Tridacna gigas and Hippopus spp. have the greatest functional and evolutionary diversity contributions within assemblies, respectively. Spatial analyses reveal that the Bay of Bengal, Andaman and numerous parts of the eastern Indo‐Pacific potentially hold higher‐than‐expected FD and PD levels relative to their SR and thus warrant more attention with respect to conserving the diversity of giant clams. Conclusions: Our findings underscore the importance of integrating functional trait contributions and evolutionary diversity into conservation planning to better differentiate giant clam assemblages, as it remains challenging to implement dedicated conservation given the limited resources. This study provides comprehensive biodiversity information for managers to initiate measures that holistically capture species' ecological and evolutionary standings across global reef ecosystems.