Relationships between mean species abundance (MSA) and potentially disappeared fraction of species (PDF) are consistent but also uncertain
The potentially disappeared fraction of species (PDF) and the loss in mean species abundance (MSA) are two commonly used indicators to quantify losses in local biodiversity integrity associated with production and consumption of goods and services (biodiversity ‘footprints’). However, it is unclear...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Environmental and Sustainability Indicators |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266597272500073X |
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| author | Koen JJ. Kuipers Adam Melki Stephane Morel Aafke M. Schipper |
| author_facet | Koen JJ. Kuipers Adam Melki Stephane Morel Aafke M. Schipper |
| author_sort | Koen JJ. Kuipers |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The potentially disappeared fraction of species (PDF) and the loss in mean species abundance (MSA) are two commonly used indicators to quantify losses in local biodiversity integrity associated with production and consumption of goods and services (biodiversity ‘footprints’). However, it is unclear to what extent these two indicators align. Here we explore if and how losses in MSA are related to PDF based on both simulated data from virtual species communities and empirical pairwise comparisons of impacted and reference communities (n = 19,891). We find a significant positive but uncertain relationship between MSA loss and PDF. Based on the empirical data, PDF leaves about half of the variance in MSA loss unexplained. Our results further highlight that MSA loss and PDF reveal distinct aspects of community change. At a PDF of zero, we find an average decline in MSA of 0.20 (95% CI = 0.09–0.42), reflecting that abundance loss precedes species extinction and that MSA loss is a more sensitive indicator of biodiversity change than PDF, particularly at low PDF values. Given the intrinsic differences between the indicators and the large residual heterogeneity in the relationship between them, we conclude that MSA loss and PDF provide complementary information. We recommend either making an informed choice for one of the indicators in view of the goals and scope of the application, or using them in parallel for a more comprehensive assessment. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-868632cfb2ab4290825d9af10b4bbb03 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2665-9727 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental and Sustainability Indicators |
| spelling | doaj-art-868632cfb2ab4290825d9af10b4bbb032025-08-20T03:15:28ZengElsevierEnvironmental and Sustainability Indicators2665-97272025-06-012610065210.1016/j.indic.2025.100652Relationships between mean species abundance (MSA) and potentially disappeared fraction of species (PDF) are consistent but also uncertainKoen JJ. Kuipers0Adam Melki1Stephane Morel2Aafke M. Schipper3Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences (RIBES), Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Corresponding author.Quantis, Paris, FranceQuantis, Paris, FranceRadboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences (RIBES), Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, The Hague, the NetherlandsThe potentially disappeared fraction of species (PDF) and the loss in mean species abundance (MSA) are two commonly used indicators to quantify losses in local biodiversity integrity associated with production and consumption of goods and services (biodiversity ‘footprints’). However, it is unclear to what extent these two indicators align. Here we explore if and how losses in MSA are related to PDF based on both simulated data from virtual species communities and empirical pairwise comparisons of impacted and reference communities (n = 19,891). We find a significant positive but uncertain relationship between MSA loss and PDF. Based on the empirical data, PDF leaves about half of the variance in MSA loss unexplained. Our results further highlight that MSA loss and PDF reveal distinct aspects of community change. At a PDF of zero, we find an average decline in MSA of 0.20 (95% CI = 0.09–0.42), reflecting that abundance loss precedes species extinction and that MSA loss is a more sensitive indicator of biodiversity change than PDF, particularly at low PDF values. Given the intrinsic differences between the indicators and the large residual heterogeneity in the relationship between them, we conclude that MSA loss and PDF provide complementary information. We recommend either making an informed choice for one of the indicators in view of the goals and scope of the application, or using them in parallel for a more comprehensive assessment.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266597272500073XBiodiversity footprint analysisBiodiversity impact factorsBiodiversity impact indicatorsCharacterisation factorsEnvironmental life cycle impact assessment (LCA)Multiregional input-output analysis (MRIO) |
| spellingShingle | Koen JJ. Kuipers Adam Melki Stephane Morel Aafke M. Schipper Relationships between mean species abundance (MSA) and potentially disappeared fraction of species (PDF) are consistent but also uncertain Environmental and Sustainability Indicators Biodiversity footprint analysis Biodiversity impact factors Biodiversity impact indicators Characterisation factors Environmental life cycle impact assessment (LCA) Multiregional input-output analysis (MRIO) |
| title | Relationships between mean species abundance (MSA) and potentially disappeared fraction of species (PDF) are consistent but also uncertain |
| title_full | Relationships between mean species abundance (MSA) and potentially disappeared fraction of species (PDF) are consistent but also uncertain |
| title_fullStr | Relationships between mean species abundance (MSA) and potentially disappeared fraction of species (PDF) are consistent but also uncertain |
| title_full_unstemmed | Relationships between mean species abundance (MSA) and potentially disappeared fraction of species (PDF) are consistent but also uncertain |
| title_short | Relationships between mean species abundance (MSA) and potentially disappeared fraction of species (PDF) are consistent but also uncertain |
| title_sort | relationships between mean species abundance msa and potentially disappeared fraction of species pdf are consistent but also uncertain |
| topic | Biodiversity footprint analysis Biodiversity impact factors Biodiversity impact indicators Characterisation factors Environmental life cycle impact assessment (LCA) Multiregional input-output analysis (MRIO) |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266597272500073X |
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