{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,4]],"date-time":"2026-03-04T16:45:50Z","timestamp":1772642750605,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":70,"publisher":"Pensoft Publishers","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,4]],"date-time":"2026-03-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1772582400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003339","name":"Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cient\u00edficas","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003339","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["biogeography"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The relationship between species body mass and abundance (MAR-SPP) is a fundamental feature of ecosystems, reflecting whether energy is accumulated in few large organisms or dispersed amongst several smaller ones. While larger species are generally less abundant than smaller ones, identifying broad patterns in this relationship \u2013 and the mechanisms shaping it \u2013 has been hindered by sparse spatial and taxonomic data. Here, we present a global assessment of MAR-SPP as a function of individual body-mass distribution and species richness, each representing how body size influences energy allocation and the ecological opportunity for diversification. Using extensive species abundance datasets, we model global abundances of 12,057 bird and mammal species at a one-degree resolution. This enables localised reconstructions of community structure and detailed examination of body-mass\u2013abundance\u2013richness relationships. We find that increasing ecosystem productivity and human activity are associated with a relative decline in the abundance of small species. This pattern arises because smaller organisms become more diverse, but not proportionally more abundant, effectively diluting individuals across an increasing number of species. Given that basal metabolic rate scales with body mass to the 0.75 power, our findings suggest that larger species, on average, capture more energy than smaller ones \u2014 particularly in productive ecosystems \u2014 despite general constraints on their energy acquisition and diversification. Our study demonstrates that energy distribution and ecological opportunity independently shape the functional space governing MAR-SPP. It also highlights the disproportionate impact of human activity on large organisms, revealing lasting consequences for the functional organization of ecological communities.<\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:p>Body mass\u2013abundance\u2013richness relationships reflect how energy is distributed across body size classes and the ecological opportunities available for diversification.<\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:p>Modelling species abundances helps bridge gaps in sparse empirical data, enabling more robust ecological inferences about the structure of body mass\u2013abundance relationships.<\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:p>An analysis of these relationships in bird and mammal communities reveals a general constraint on large organisms: limited capacity to diversify and accumulate energy. Paradoxically, however, larger-bodied species tend to capture more energy, on average.<\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:p>High-productivity environments increase the relative energy contribution of large organisms, but simultaneously reduce their ecological opportunity for diversification.<\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:p>Body mass\u2013abundance\u2013richness relationships may serve as a functional metric for assessing the ecological impact of human activities on natural communities.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.21425\/fob.19.164408","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,4]],"date-time":"2026-03-04T12:20:57Z","timestamp":1772626857000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Body mass\u2013abundance relationships reveal uneven global energy distribution across body size classes in vertebrates"],"prefix":"10.21425","volume":"19","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3795-8509","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Luis F.","family":"Camacho","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"National Museum of Natural Sciences, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cient\u00edficas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5107-7265","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Miguel B.","family":"Ara\u00fajo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development (MED) and Global Change and Sustainability Institute (CHANGE), Institute for Advanced Studies and Research (IIFA), \u00c9vora, Portugal"},{"name":"National Museum of Natural Sciences, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cient\u00edficas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain"},{"name":"German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Leipzig, Germany"}]}],"member":"2258","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"164408_B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/srep10955"},{"key":"164408_B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1086\/504849"},{"key":"164408_B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1046\/j.1466-822X.2003.00314.x"},{"key":"164408_B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tree.2006.09.010"},{"key":"164408_B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2486.2005.01000.x"},{"key":"164408_B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/science.291.5513.2616"},{"key":"164408_B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.48580\/dgnz3"},{"key":"164408_B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1098\/rspb.2015.2186"},{"key":"164408_B9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.21105\/joss.02815"},{"key":"164408_B10","unstructured":"BirdLife International [Handbook of the Birds of the World] (2023) Bird species distribution maps of the world. Version 2023.1. http:\/\/datazone.birdlife.org\/species\/requestdis"},{"key":"164408_B11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.0630310100"},{"key":"164408_B12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1890\/03-9000"},{"key":"164408_B13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.16904\/envidat.332"},{"key":"164408_B14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1098\/rspb.2025.2335"},{"key":"164408_B15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2307\/2389905"},{"key":"164408_B16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1095-8312.1987.tb01990.x"},{"key":"164408_B17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1086\/513495"},{"key":"164408_B18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/2041-210X.12641"},{"key":"164408_B19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.32614\/cran.package.lemon"},{"key":"164408_B20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1890\/13-0620.1"},{"key":"164408_B21","unstructured":"Faurby S, Ara\u00fajo MB (2016) Anthropogenic impacts weaken Bergmann\u2019s rule. Ecography 39: 1\u20132. Field A (2013) Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS Statistics. 4th edn. Sage, London."},{"key":"164408_B22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S0376892997000088"},{"key":"164408_B23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/ecog.06899"},{"key":"164408_B24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1098\/rsbl.2019.0174"},{"key":"164408_B25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1098\/rsbl.2011.0128"},{"key":"164408_B26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1466-8238.2012.00782.x"},{"key":"164408_B27","unstructured":"IUCN (2024) The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2024-2. https:\/\/www.iucnredlist.org [Visisted on 1 February 2024]"},{"key":"164408_B28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2656.2006.01180.x"},{"key":"164408_B29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nature11631"},{"key":"164408_B30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/sam.11583"},{"key":"164408_B31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.32614\/cran.package.ggpubr"},{"key":"164408_B32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1046\/j.1365-2435.2002.00646.x"},{"key":"164408_B33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s10144-018-0628-3"},{"key":"164408_B34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2003269117"},{"key":"164408_B35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ancene.2023.100403"},{"key":"164408_B36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1600-0587.2013.00127.x"},{"key":"164408_B37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1502540113"},{"key":"164408_B38","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-019-12995-9"},{"key":"164408_B39","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/ecog.06289"},{"key":"164408_B40","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-024-21058-8"},{"key":"164408_B41","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s10531-019-01724-9"},{"key":"164408_B42","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-018-08039-3"},{"key":"164408_B43","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1098\/rsbl.2010.0240"},{"key":"164408_B44","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/gcb.15862"},{"key":"164408_B45","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/1365-2656.14044"},{"key":"164408_B46","unstructured":"R Core Team (2024) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna. https:\/\/www.R-project.org\/"},{"key":"164408_B47","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1461-0248.2008.01236.x"},{"key":"164408_B48","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/2041-210X.13868"},{"key":"164408_B49","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/ecog.02881"},{"key":"164408_B50","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s42003-023-05375-z"},{"key":"164408_B51","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/geb.13476"},{"key":"164408_B52","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/geb.13688"},{"key":"164408_B53","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/geb.13929"},{"key":"164408_B54","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ecocom.2010.12.001"},{"key":"164408_B55","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1098\/rspb.2016.0249"},{"key":"164408_B56","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1139\/cjfas-2015-0115"},{"key":"164408_B57","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Stearns SC (1998) The evolution of life histories. Oxford University Press, Oxford.","DOI":"10.1093\/oso\/9780198577416.001.0001"},{"key":"164408_B58","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/ele.12941"},{"key":"164408_B59","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/ecog.05778"},{"key":"164408_B60","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/ele.13898"},{"key":"164408_B61","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s101440200022"},{"key":"164408_B62","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tree.2013.03.008"},{"key":"164408_B63","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pbio.3000494"},{"key":"164408_B64","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.5061\/dryad.052q5"},{"key":"164408_B65","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/ncomms12558"},{"key":"164408_B66","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tree.2007.03.007"},{"key":"164408_B67","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1890\/07-1288.1"},{"key":"164408_B68","unstructured":"Wickham H (2016) ggplot2: Elegant graphics for data analysis. Springer, New York. Wickham H, Fran\u00e7ois R, Henry L, M\u00fcller K, Vaughan D (2023) dplyr: A grammar of data manipulation. R package version 1.1.4. https:\/\/CRAN.R-project.org\/package=dplyr"},{"key":"164408_B69","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1890\/13-1917.1"},{"key":"164408_B70","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.32614\/cran.package.mgcv"}],"container-title":["Frontiers of Biogeography"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/biogeography.pensoft.net\/article\/164408\/download\/pdf\/","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/biogeography.pensoft.net\/article\/164408\/download\/xml\/","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/biogeography.pensoft.net\/article_preview.php?id=164408&skip_redirect=1","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,4]],"date-time":"2026-03-04T12:21:00Z","timestamp":1772626860000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/biogeography.pensoft.net\/article\/164408\/"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,4]]},"references-count":70,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.21425\/fob.19.164408","relation":{},"ISSN":["1948-6596"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1948-6596","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,4]]},"article-number":"e164408"}}