Journal article
Global meta‐analysis highlights recovery of animal functional diversity in restored coastal ecosystems
Restoration Ecology, Vol.Advanced access
17-Jul-2026
Abstract
Introduction
Coastal ecosystems have experienced widespread global degradation, prompting substantial investment in restoration. While structural recovery is well documented, whether restoration reestablishes the functional diversity (FD) of animal communities and how recovery unfolds through time remains poorly resolved.
Objectives
This study evaluates the recovery of fish and decapod FD in restored coastal habitats—seagrass meadows, mangrove forests, saltmarshes, and oyster reefs—relative to reference and unstructured baselines and determines whether recovery occurs immediately or follows temporal trajectories.
Methods
We synthesized 61 studies encompassing 355 fish and 136 decapod species. We quantified functional richness (FRic; presence–absence based) and four abundance-weighted FD metrics (functional evenness, divergence, dispersion, and Rao's Quadratic Entropy [Rao's Q]) alongside species richness. Log response ratios (lnRR) comparing restored with reference and unstructured sites were analyzed in relation to time-since-restoration (TSR).
Results
lnRR did not differ significantly from zero in 93% of restored-reference comparisons, suggesting restored habitats frequently supported functionally comparable communities from early stages. FRic showed similarity to reference systems irrespective of TSR. For fish in vegetated habitats, some abundance-weighted metrics (particularly functional dispersion and Rao's Q) showed positive temporal trends, reaching parity within 3–7 years. Decapods showed greater variability, but all metrics indicated early functional equivalence, consistent with rapid colonization. The absence of strong temporal trends in most comparisons suggests early functional recovery followed by stable trajectories.
Conclusion
FD of fish and decapod assemblages responds relatively rapidly to coastal habitat restoration, with many systems achieving early equivalence to reference conditions. Recovery varied by ecosystem: oyster reefs showed consistent early parity, while vegetated systems exhibited more gradual trajectories, underscoring ecosystem-specific expectations.
Details
- Title
- Global meta‐analysis highlights recovery of animal functional diversity in restored coastal ecosystems
- Authors
- Jessa May Malanguis (Corresponding Author) - Griffith UniversityRod M. Connolly - Griffith UniversityBen L. Gilby - University of the Sunshine CoastChristopher J. Henderson - University of the Sunshine CoastMichael Sievers - Griffith University
- Publication details
- Restoration Ecology, Vol.Advanced access
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc.
- DOI
- 10.1111/rec.70501
- ISSN
- 1526-100X
- Copyright note
- © 2026 The Author(s). Restoration Ecology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society for Ecological Restoration. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991246954202621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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