scholarly journals A graphical causal model for resolving species identity effects and biodiversity–ecosystem function correlations: comment

Ecology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
James B. Grace ◽  
Michel Loreau ◽  
Bernhard Schmid
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Function ◽  
Causal Model ◽  
Species Identity

A graphical causal model for resolving species identity effects and biodiversity–ecosystem function correlations

Ecology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 101 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald R. Schoolmaster ◽  
Chad R. Zirbel ◽  
James Patrick Cronin
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Function ◽  
Causal Model ◽  
Species Identity

Consequences of realistic patterns of biodiversity loss: an experimental test from the intertidal zone

2010 ◽  
Vol 61 (9) ◽  
pp. 1015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meaghan K. Walker ◽  
Ross M. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Function ◽  
Sea Water ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Species Identity ◽  
Flow Through ◽  
Biodiversity And Ecosystem Function ◽  
Positive Effect

Studies of the effects of biodiversity on ecosystem function (BDEF) have largely found positive, saturating relationships. However, these studies have been criticised for generating species loss randomly when real extinctions are strongly biased toward rare species. We investigated BDEF relationships in the mollusc fauna of an intertidal rock platform at Griffiths Point, San Remo, south-east Victoria, Australia. Field surveys found that areas with the lowest function (mollusc biomass) were associated with lowest diversity. Excluding individual species from experimental enclosures affected function differentially depending on species’ initial abundance. Rectangular enclosures were attached to the rock platform enabling molluscs to be enclosed while allowing sea water to flow through. Removal of the most abundant species had a positive effect on mollusc biomass, suggesting an inhibition of the other species in the community. In the absence of the most common species, the less abundant species were more productive in combination than when present singly. Taken collectively, these results provide evidence for a relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function which is a product of both diversity per se and species identity.

Species identity drives ecosystem function in a subsidy-dependent coastal ecosystem

Oecologia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle A. Emery ◽  
Jenifer E. Dugan ◽  
R. A. Bailey ◽  
Robert J. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Function ◽  
Coastal Ecosystem ◽  
Species Identity

A stressor-independent test for biodiversity – ecosystem function relationships during a 23-year whole-lake experimentThis paper is part of the series “Forty Years of Aquatic Research at the Experimental Lakes Area”.

2009 ◽  
Vol 66 (11) ◽  
pp. 1903-1909 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rolf D. Vinebrooke ◽  
Michael A. Turner ◽  
David L. Findlay ◽  
Michael J. Paterson
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Functional Properties ◽  
Ecosystem Function ◽  
Multiple Stressors ◽  
Total Biomass ◽  
Species Identity ◽  
Experimental Lakes Area ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Experimental Acidification ◽  
Plankton Communities

Anthropogenic stressors are the current drivers of loss of global biodiversity and deterioration of ecosystem function (e.g., primary production). However, it is debatable whether human stressors or associated changes in biodiversity better predict the impairment of ecosystem function. Variation in plankton communities during a whole-lake experiment (Lake 302S, Experimental Lakes Area, Canada) was examined to test whether the stressor treatment effect or subsequent stressor-independent variation in species richness best explained interannual variation in aggregate functional properties, such as productivity or net total biomass. Although significant “biodiversity – ecosystem function” relationships were detected, these correlations were confounded by the negative effect of experimental acidification on species richness. The stressor effect was removed by plotting functional properties against the residuals from the species richness – pH regressions, which generated either negative or nonsignificant relationships. The lack of significant stressor-independent positive relationships between functional properties and species richness highlights the potential greater importance of other mediating factors, such as interactions among multiple stressors, species identity, and altered trophic interactions, at the whole-ecosystem scale.

Support, stress, and recovery from coronary heart disease: A longitudinal causal model.

1989 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan F. Fontana ◽  
Robert D. Kerns ◽  
Roberta L. Rosenberg ◽  
Kathleen L. Colonese
Keyword(s):  
Coronary Heart Disease ◽  
Heart Disease ◽  
Causal Model

Dominance determines fish community biomass in a temperate seagrass ecosystem

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron Matthius Eger ◽  
Rebecca J. Best ◽  
Julia Kathleen Baum
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Ecosystem Function ◽  
Fish Community ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Fish Communities ◽  
Functional Trait ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Community Biomass ◽  
Ecosystem Valuation ◽  
Species Abundances

Biodiversity and ecosystem function are often correlated, but there are multiple hypotheses about the mechanisms underlying this relationship. Ecosystem functions such as primary or secondary production may be maximized by species richness, evenness in species abundances, or the presence or dominance of species with certain traits. Here, we combined surveys of natural fish communities (conducted in July and August, 2016) with morphological trait data to examine relationships between diversity and ecosystem function (quantified as fish community biomass) across 14 subtidal eelgrass meadows in the Northeast Pacific (54° N 130° W). We employed both taxonomic and functional trait measures of diversity to investigate if ecosystem function is driven by species diversity (complementarity hypothesis) or by the presence or dominance of species with particular trait values (selection or dominance hypotheses). After controlling for environmental variation, we found that fish community biomass is maximized when taxonomic richness and functional evenness is low, and in communities dominated by species with particular trait values – those associated with benthic habitats and prey capture. While previous work on fish communities has found that species richness is positively correlated with ecosystem function, our results instead highlight the capacity for regionally prevalent and locally dominant species to drive ecosystem function in moderately diverse communities. We discuss these alternate links between community composition and ecosystem function and consider their divergent implications for ecosystem valuation and conservation prioritization.

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