Meeting Abstract

68-2  Friday, Jan. 5 14:00 – 14:15  Spatial mismatches between phylogenetic and functional diversity in Nebraska grassland bird communities MIROCHNITCHENKO, N/A*; STUBER, E/F; FONTAINE, J/J; Nebraska Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Lincoln NE ; Nebraska Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Lincoln NE ; U.S. Geological Survey, Nebraska Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Lincoln nmiroch@huskers.unl.edu

Numerous definitions of biodiversity are used in ecological research, each cataloging a different aspect of diversity or measuring systems at different levels of biological organization. While one definition of biodiversity may overlap with other definitions, biodiversity metrics from one perspective should not be used to infer other metrics of biodiversity without understanding the relationships between these metrics across environmental contexts. We investigated how cataloging diversity through ecological versus evolutionary lenses may become spatially disjointed. Here, we surveyed the grassland bird community across Nebraska, USA during the 2016 breeding season using point counts from a stratified semi-random sampling design based on important habitat types. We categorized species assemblages at each survey site using functional and phylogenetic approaches. We used multivariate models to examine the relationship between phylogenetic and functional diversity and demonstrate how the relationship was influenced over land use gradients. Our results will be useful to ecologists interested in context-specific relationships between biodiversity perspectives and wildlife managers interested in conserving areas that maximize both functional and phylogenetic diversity in a declining guild of birds.