Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1893/33522
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dc.contributor.authorDawson, Samantha Ken_UK
dc.contributor.authorCarmona, Carlos Pérezen_UK
dc.contributor.authorGonzález-Suárez, Manuelaen_UK
dc.contributor.authorJönsson, Marien_UK
dc.contributor.authorChichorro, Filipeen_UK
dc.contributor.authorMallen-Cooper, Maxen_UK
dc.contributor.authorMelero, Yolandaen_UK
dc.contributor.authorMoor, Helenen_UK
dc.contributor.authorSimaika, John Pen_UK
dc.contributor.authorDuthie, Alexander Bradleyen_UK
dc.date.accessioned2021-10-28T00:03:10Z-
dc.date.available2021-10-28T00:03:10Z-
dc.date.issued2021-12en_UK
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1893/33522-
dc.description.abstractTrait and functional trait approaches have revolutionised ecology improving our understanding of community assembly, species coexistence, and biodiversity loss. Focusing on traits promotes comparability across spatial and organisational scales, but terms must be used consistently. While several papers have offered definitions, it remains unclear how ecologists operationalise ’trait’ and ’functional trait’ terms. Here we evaluate how researchers and the published literature use these terms and explore differences among subdisciplines and study systems (taxa and biome). By conducting both a survey and a literature review, we test the hypothesis that ecologists’ working definition of ‘trait’ is adapted or altered when confronting the realities of collecting, analysing and presenting data. From 486 survey responses and 712 reviewed papers, we identified inconsistencies in the understanding and use of terminology among researchers, but also limited inclusion of definitions within the published literature. Discrepancies were not explained by subdiscipline, system of study, or respondent characteristics, suggesting there could be an inconsistent understanding even among those working in related topics. Consistencies among survey responses included the use of morphological, phenological and physiological traits. Previous studies have called for unification of terminology, yet our study shows proposed definitions are not consistently used or accepted. Sources of disagreement include trait heritability, defining and interpreting function, and dealing with organisms in which individuals are not clearly recognisable. We discuss and offer guidelines for overcoming these disagreements. The diversity of life on Earth means traits can represent different features that can be measured and reported in different ways, and thus, narrow definitions that work for one system will fail in others. We recommend ecologists embrace the breadth of biodiversity using a simplified definition of ’trait’ more consistent with its common use. Trait-based approaches will be most powerful if we accept that traits are at least as diverse as trait ecologists.en_UK
dc.language.isoenen_UK
dc.publisherWileyen_UK
dc.relationDawson SK, Carmona CP, González-Suárez M, Jönsson M, Chichorro F, Mallen-Cooper M, Melero Y, Moor H, Simaika JP & Duthie AB (2021) The traits of "trait ecologists": an analysis of the use of trait and functional trait terminology. Ecology and Evolution, 11 (23), pp. 16434-16445. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8321en_UK
dc.rights© 2021 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.en_UK
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en_UK
dc.subjecttraiten_UK
dc.subjectfunctional traiten_UK
dc.subjectcommunity ecologyen_UK
dc.subjectfunctional ecologyen_UK
dc.titleThe traits of "trait ecologists": an analysis of the use of trait and functional trait terminologyen_UK
dc.typeJournal Articleen_UK
dc.rights.embargodate2021-11-11en_UK
dc.identifier.doi10.1002/ece3.8321en_UK
dc.citation.jtitleEcology and Evolutionen_UK
dc.citation.issn2045-7758en_UK
dc.citation.volume11en_UK
dc.citation.issue23en_UK
dc.citation.spage16434en_UK
dc.citation.epage16445en_UK
dc.citation.publicationstatusPublisheden_UK
dc.citation.peerreviewedRefereeden_UK
dc.type.statusVoR - Version of Recorden_UK
dc.contributor.funderThe Leverhulme Trusten_UK
dc.author.emailalexander.duthie@stir.ac.uken_UK
dc.citation.date11/11/2021en_UK
dc.contributor.affiliationSwedish University of Agricultural Sciencesen_UK
dc.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Tartuen_UK
dc.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Readingen_UK
dc.contributor.affiliationSwedish University of Agricultural Sciencesen_UK
dc.contributor.affiliationFinnish Museum of Natural Historyen_UK
dc.contributor.affiliationUniversity of New South Walesen_UK
dc.contributor.affiliationCentre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF)en_UK
dc.contributor.affiliationSwedish University of Agricultural Sciencesen_UK
dc.contributor.affiliationUNESCO-IHE Delft Institute for Water Educationen_UK
dc.contributor.affiliationBiological and Environmental Sciencesen_UK
dc.identifier.isiWOS:000716893300001en_UK
dc.identifier.scopusid2-s2.0-85118897588en_UK
dc.identifier.wtid1766621en_UK
dc.contributor.orcid0000-0001-8343-4995en_UK
dc.date.accepted2021-10-25en_UK
dcterms.dateAccepted2021-10-25en_UK
dc.date.filedepositdate2021-10-26en_UK
dc.relation.funderprojectBiodiversity and ecosystem function in ephemeral patches: a trait-based approachen_UK
dc.relation.funderrefECF-2016-376en_UK
rioxxterms.apcpaiden_UK
rioxxterms.typeJournal Article/Reviewen_UK
rioxxterms.versionVoRen_UK
local.rioxx.authorDawson, Samantha K|en_UK
local.rioxx.authorCarmona, Carlos Pérez|en_UK
local.rioxx.authorGonzález-Suárez, Manuela|en_UK
local.rioxx.authorJönsson, Mari|en_UK
local.rioxx.authorChichorro, Filipe|en_UK
local.rioxx.authorMallen-Cooper, Max|en_UK
local.rioxx.authorMelero, Yolanda|en_UK
local.rioxx.authorMoor, Helen|en_UK
local.rioxx.authorSimaika, John P|en_UK
local.rioxx.authorDuthie, Alexander Bradley|0000-0001-8343-4995en_UK
local.rioxx.projectECF-2016-376|The Leverhulme Trust|en_UK
local.rioxx.freetoreaddate2021-11-11en_UK
local.rioxx.licencehttp://www.rioxx.net/licenses/under-embargo-all-rights-reserved||2021-11-11en_UK
local.rioxx.licencehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/|2021-11-11|en_UK
local.rioxx.filenameDuthie-etal-EcoEvo-2021.pdfen_UK
local.rioxx.filecount1en_UK
local.rioxx.source2045-7758en_UK
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