BIODIV ISLAND-CONT: Biodiversity drivers on islands and continents

One of the main objectives of the BIODIV ISLAND-CONT project is to shed light into the biogeographical and evolutionary processes that generate biodiversity. We use spiders as model organism and multiple island and continent datasets (Macaronesian archipelagoes and Iberian Peninsula) to compare diversity drivers between model systems where distinct processes have shaped the current species composition.

To reach the goals of the project we have used a multidisciplinary approach combining taxonomy, phylogenetics, functional ecology and community ecology. We have applied different methods and analyses: molecular lab work for amplifying and sequencing the mitochondrial and nuclear genes for phylogenetic reconstruction, phylogenetic and lineage age estimation analyses, construction of a spider’s functional trait database, calculation of different diversity indices (Taxonomic, Functional and Phylogenetic diversity) and statistical analyses.

Due to the different ecological and evolutionary characteristics between island and continents we have found contrasting patterns of phylogenetic and functional community structure in both ecosystems. Opposing mechanisms are acting on the assembly of the species in the different communities: competitive exclusion is limiting the coexistence of closely related species in some islands, and environmental filtering is allowing species with similar traits to inhabit a particular environment. 

Period: 2016-2019.

Funding: BIODIV ISLAND-CONT (Biodiversity drivers on islands and continents–706482) funded by Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2015).

PI: P. Cardoso & N. Macías-Hernández.

Participating entities: Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki (Finland), Instituto de Productos Naturales y Agrobiología (IPNA-CSIC).