High functional diversity of avian breeders of the mammoth steppe during the last glacial maximum

The largest continuous ecosystem was presented by the mammoth steppe during the Pleistocene, which exhibited high primary productivity and plant diversities creating a diverse set of habitats. This work is the first investigation where I aimed to analyse the functional diversity of bird species predicted to breed at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) within the Eurasian part of the mammoth steppe, in comparison to present-day metrics calculated for the same spatial region. To do so, I performed Species Distribution modelling of the breeding ranges of birds distributed in Eurasia and projected the breeding ranges backward to the LGM. Next, I computed functional diversity metrics with and without phylogenetic control for both LGM and present timescales and analysed relationships among functional diversity metrics calculated for the LGM and modern times.