01740nas a2200181   4500008004100000245003400041210003400075300001600109490000800125520122500133100001701358700002901375700002301404700002801427700002501455700001601480856006201496       2019                        eng d00aDemystifying dominant species0 aDemystifying dominant species  a1106 - 11260 v2233 a<p>The pattern of a few abundant species and many rarer species is a defining characteristic of communities worldwide. These abundant species are often referred to as dominant species. Yet, despite their importance, the term dominant species is poorly defined and often used to convey different information by different authors. Based on a review of historical and contemporary definitions we develop a synthetic definition of dominant species. This definition incorporates the relative local abundance of a species, its ubiquity across the landscape, and its impact on community and ecosystem properties. A meta‐analysis of removal studies shows that the loss of species identified as dominant by authors can significantly impact ecosystem functioning and community structure. We recommend two metrics that can be used jointly to identify dominant species in a given community and provide a roadmap for future avenues of research on dominant species. In our review, we make the case that the identity and effects of dominant species on their environments are key to linking patterns of diversity to ecosystem function, including predicting impacts of species loss and other aspects of global change on ecosystems.</p>1 aAvolio, M.L.1 aForrestel, Elisabeth, J.1 aChang, Cynthia, C.1 aLa Pierre, Kimberly, J.1 aBurghardt, Karin, T.1 aSmith, M.D.  uhttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/nph.1578902351nas a2200241   4500008004100000022001400041245007700055210006900132300001400201490000800215520162000223653001701843653002301860653002201883653003001905100002901935700001901964700002301983700001702006700002702023700001602050856004302066       2017                        eng d  a0027-842400aDifferent clades and traits yield similar grassland functional responses0 aDifferent clades and traits yield similar grassland functional r  a705 - 7100 v1143 aPlant functional traits are viewed as key to predicting important ecosystem and community properties across resource gradients within and among biogeographic regions. Vegetation dynamics and ecosystem processes, such as aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP), are increasingly being modeled as a function of the quantitative traits of species, which are used as proxies for photosynthetic rates and nutrient and water-use efficiency. These approaches rely on an assumption that a certain trait value consistently confers a specific function or response under given environmental conditions. Here, we provide a critical test of this idea and evaluate whether the functional traits that drive the well-known relationship between precipitation and ANPP differ between systems with distinct biogeographic histories and species assemblages. Specifically, we compared grasslands spanning a broad precipitation gradient (∼200–1,000 mm/y) in North America and South Africa that differ in the relative representation and abundance of grass phylogenetic lineages. We found no significant difference between the regions in the positive relationship between annual precipitation and ANPP, yet the trait values underlying this relationship differed dramatically. Our results challenge the trait-based approach to predicting ecosystem function by demonstrating that different combinations of functional traits can act to maximize ANPP in a given environmental setting. Further, we show the importance of incorporating biogeographic and phylogenetic history in predicting community and ecosystem properties using traits. 10abiogeography10aEcosystem function10aFunctional traits10agrasslands. phylogenetics1 aForrestel, Elisabeth, J.1 aDonoghue, M.J.1 aEdwards, Erika, J.1 aJetz, Walter1 aToit, Justin, C. O. du1 aSmith, M.D.  uhttps://www.pnas.org/content/114/4/705