Temperate Intertidal Ecosystems are Functionally Richer but More Vulnerable to Loss Than Tropical Ecosystems.

Gastropods are major contributors to a range of key ecosystem services on intertidal rock platforms, supporting trophic structure in both terrestrial and marine contexts and manipulating habitat complexity. However, the functional structure of these assemblages is rarely examined across broad spatial scales. Here, we describe patterns in gastropod functional diversity, redundancy and vulnerability to functional loss across a latitudinal gradient following the west coast of Australia (18° S-34° S).