Functional consequences of realistic biodiversity changes in a marine ecosystem

Declines in biodiversity have prompted concern over the consequences of species loss for the goods and services provided by natural ecosystems. However, relatively few studies have evaluated the functional consequences of realistic, nonrandom changes in biodiversity. Instead, most designs have used...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2008-01, Vol.105 (3), p.924-928
Main Authors: Bracken, Matthew E.S, Friberg, Sara E, Gonzalez-Dorantes, Cirse A, Williams, Susan L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ammonia
Aquatic ecosystems
Biodiversity
Biological Sciences
Coefficients
Ecosystem studies
Ecosystems
Marine Biology
Marine ecology
Marine ecosystems
Microcosms
Nitrogen
Quaternary ammonium compounds
Seaweed
Seaweeds
Species
Species diversity
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Summary:Declines in biodiversity have prompted concern over the consequences of species loss for the goods and services provided by natural ecosystems. However, relatively few studies have evaluated the functional consequences of realistic, nonrandom changes in biodiversity. Instead, most designs have used randomly selected assemblages from a local species pool to construct diversity gradients. It is therefore difficult, based on current evidence, to predict the functional consequences of realistic declines in biodiversity. In this study, we used tide pool microcosms to demonstrate that the effects of real-world changes in biodiversity may be very different from those of random diversity changes. Specifically, we measured the relationship between the diversity of a seaweed assemblage and its ability to use nitrogen, a key limiting nutrient in nearshore marine systems. We quantified nitrogen uptake using both experimental and model seaweed assemblages and found that natural increases in diversity resulted in enhanced rates of nitrogen use, whereas random diversity changes had no effect on nitrogen uptake. Our results suggest that understanding the real-world consequences of declining biodiversity will require addressing changes in species performance along natural diversity gradients and understanding the relationships between species' susceptibility to loss and their contributions to ecosystem functioning.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.0704103105