Congruence between species phylogenetic and trophic distinctiveness

Preserving biodiversity has become vital in a time of rapid environmental changes since biodiversity loss compromises ecosystem functioning and subsequently services on which human welfare depends. Biodiversity encompasses taxonomic, process and structure heterogeneity and its evaluation requires an integrative approach. Additionally, different taxa have been shown to unequally contribute to biodiversity. Conservation efforts would benefit from focusing on taxa bearing a highly distinct contribution to multiple biodiversity components, for a more efficient retention of a sustainable level of biodiversity. Both phylogenetic diversity and interaction diversity are essential components of biodiversity. An association between phylogenetic affiliations and ecological interactions has been found for a wide range of organisms, with closely related species engaging in similar interactions. Further, nested (specialists using a subset of the resources used by generalists) and modular (subguilds of consumer–resource relationships) interaction structures have been identified to enhance the resilience of ecosystem dynamics. We combine phylogenetic and network analyses to evaluate the relationship between species contributions to phylogenetic diversity and their contributions to the diversity and structure of trophic interactions in an African assemblage of mammalian herbivores. We identified positive relationships between species contributions to phylogenetic diversity, interaction diversity and nested interaction structure. This means that conservation actions aiming at protecting evolutionary distinct species have the potential to simultaneously maximise interaction diversity and nested architecture. Species contributions to modular interaction patterns were nonetheless uncorrelated to contributions to phylogenetic diversity, and indicated the importance of some phylogenetic redundancy between species for retaining a modular structure in the system.