Article
Ecology
Alfred Burian, Daisy Pinn, Ignacio Peralta-Maraver, Michael Sweet, Quentin Mauvisseau, Ozge Eyice, Mark Bulling, Till Roethig, Pavel Kratina
Summary: Experimental manipulation of protozoan predation pressure in activated sludge communities had strong and positive effects on bacterial diversity components, with responses leveling off at higher predation pressure levels. While predator intensity positively impacted taxa richness, predator diversity had mixed effects on bacterial diversity. Reduction in top-down control by predators negatively affected taxa associated with treatment efficiency, particularly nitrogen removal. The study highlights distinct mechanisms linking protozoan predation with bacterial diversity and community composition in activated sludge communities.
Article
Limnology
Miriam Gerhard, Corinna Mori, Maren Striebel
Summary: The study manipulated a natural phytoplankton community to create a taxonomic diversity gradient based on rare species exclusions, finding that the loss of biomass from rare species extinctions was compensated by species retained in the gradient. Despite a positive relationship between phytoplankton size diversity and diversity, this did not translate into a positive diversity effect on ecosystem functioning. The lack of a biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) relationship in the study may be due to weak coupling of functional and species diversity and low manifestation of functional diversity under the evaluated conditions.
LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY
(2021)
Article
Biology
Yonghui Wang, Shaopeng Wang, Liqing Zhao, Cunzhu Liang, Bailing Miao, Qing Zhang, Xiaxia Niu, Wenhong Ma, Bernhard Schmid
Summary: Extending knowledge on ecosystem stability to larger spatial scales is urgently needed. Our study in Inner Mongolian grassland showed that regional stability is related to the stability and asynchrony of local communities. Dominant species dynamics can explain regional stability almost equally well as all-species dynamics. Species diversity has weaker effects on stability and synchrony compared to precipitation, which can decrease population stability and synchronize species dynamics. Reduced amounts and increased variation of precipitation in the future may compromise ecosystem services in this region.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Xiangbao Shan, Yulu Shi, Longxiang Fang, Yuan Gui, Luchang Xing, Liping Qiu, Gengdong Hu, Jiazhang Chen
Summary: The antibiotics SMZ and ENF used in aquaculture in China have different effects on the species and biomass of phytoplankton, with SMZ showing a more significant promotion of cyanophyta than ENF. Both antibiotics reduce phytoplankton biodiversity, with SMZ being more harmful to it.
FRONTIERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hisashi Endo, Yu Umezawa, Shigenobu Takeda, Koji Suzuki
Summary: Haptophytes are a successful group of phytoplankton in the ocean, but little is known about the mechanisms behind their ecological success. In this study, observations were conducted across the Kuroshio Current to understand the community characteristics and interactions among haptophytes. It was found that the haptophyte community structure changed significantly in the East China Sea due to the influence of shelf waters with high phytoplankton biomass. Analysis suggested that haptophytes can coexist with their close relatives, possibly due to their nutritional flexibility. Noncalcifying haptophytes were identified as playing crucial roles in community diversity and stability, as well as the food web structure in the Kuroshio ecosystems.
Article
Ecology
Sofia J. van Moorsel, Terhi Hahl, Owen L. Petchey, Anne Ebeling, Nico Eisenhauer, Bernhard Schmid, Cameron Wagg
Summary: The study demonstrates that prolonged exposure of plant populations to a specific community context and abiotic site conditions can enhance temporal stability and resilience of ecosystems, especially in cases of reduced biodiversity. A history of co-occurrence can partially compensate for species loss, while high plant diversity can partly make up for the missing opportunity for adaptive adjustments.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yuxin Chen, Anja Vogel, Cameron Wagg, Tianyang Xu, Maitane Iturrate-Garcia, Michael Scherer-Lorenzen, Alexandra Weigelt, Nico Eisenhauer, Bernhard Schmid
Summary: This study finds that communities exposed to recurrent extreme climatic events can accelerate recovery from subsequent droughts by enhancing niche complementarity between species. This transgenerational effect may enhance the sustainability of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in a future with more frequent droughts.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Emma-Liina Marjakangas, Andrea Santangeli, Alison Johnston, Nicole L. Michel, Karine Prince, Aleksi Lehikoinen
Summary: Climate change affects species and species interactions, but community diversity can buffer its impacts. Studying bird communities, higher functional diversity is associated with lower thermal niche variation in the non-breeding season but not in the breeding season. These findings suggest that functionally diverse wildlife communities can mitigate the effects of climate change on thermal niche variability and highlight the importance of addressing climate and biodiversity crises together.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jacob M. Jungers, Yi Yang, Christopher W. Fernandez, Forest Isbell, Clarence Lehman, Don Wyse, Craig Sheaffer
Summary: Increasing species richness can enhance yield, reduce weed abundance, and improve interannual yield stability. However, nitrogen fertilization can boost yield while decreasing its stability. It is evident that the relationships between species diversity and productivity also apply to well-managed agricultural systems.
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Maria Marcolina Lima Cardoso, Wanessa Sousa, Jandeson Brasil, Mariana Rodrigues Amaral Costa, Vanessa Becker, Jose Luiz Attayde, Rosemberg F. Menezes
Summary: Extreme weather events are likely to increase in frequency due to climate change, posing a major challenge to communities. This study assessed the effects of a prolonged drought on environmental heterogeneity and plankton diversity in shallow lakes, finding that droughts decrease diversity and increase environmental heterogeneity.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Dan Liu, Tao Wang, Josep Penuelas, Shilong Piao
Summary: A global analysis shows that tree species diversity promotes drought resistance in nearly half of global forests. The impact of species diversity on resistance varies across regions, with larger benefits observed in dry and drought-prone forests. Restoring species diversity could be an effective strategy to mitigate the impact of extreme droughts, especially in dry regions.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Gail Ashton, Amy L. Freestone, J. Emmett Duffy, Mark E. Torchin, Brent J. Sewall, Brianna Tracy, Mariano Albano, Andrew H. Altieri, Luciana Altvater, Rolando Bastida-Zavala, Alejandro Bortolus, Antonio Brante, Viviana Bravo, Norah Brown, Alejandro H. Buschmann, Edward Buskey, Rosita Calderon Barrera, Brian Cheng, Rachel Collin, Ricardo Coutinho, Luis De Gracia, Gustavo M. Dias, Claudio DiBacco, Augusto A. Flores, Maria Angelica Haddad, Zvi Hoffman, Bruno Ibanez Erquiaga, Dean Janiak, Anali Jimenez Campean, Inti Keith, Jean-Charles Leclerc, Orlando Pedro Lecompte-Perez, Guilherme Ortigara Longo, Helena Matthews-Cascon, Cynthia H. McKenzie, Jessica Miller, Martin Munizaga, Lais P. D. Naval-Xavier, Sergio A. Navarrete, Carlos Otalora, Lilian A. Palomino-Alvarez, Maria Gabriela Palomo, Chris Patrick, Cormack Pegau, Sandra Pereda, Rosana M. Rocha, Carlos Rumbold, Carlos Sanchez, Adolfo Sanjuan-Munoz, Carmen Schloder, Evangelina Schwindt, Janina Seemann, Alan Shanks, Nuno Simoes, Luis Skinner, Nancy Yolimar Suarez-Mozo, Martin Thiel, Nelson Valdivia, Ximena Velez-Zuazo, Edson A. Vieira, Bruno Vildoso, Ingo S. Wehrtmann, Matt Whalen, Lynn Wilbur, Gregory M. Ruiz
Summary: A study found that marine predators in tropical waters have higher consumption rates and stronger impacts on the biomass and species composition of marine invertebrate communities, possibly due to the presence of fish predators.
Article
Plant Sciences
Xiaohua Wan, Francois-Xavier Joly, Hui Jia, Min Zhu, Yanrong Fu, Zhiqun Huang
Summary: This study investigates the effect of tree species richness on ecosystem carbon cycling, and finds that greater tree species richness leads to higher forest floor accumulation through increasing litterfall production, while forest floor decay rate remains unchanged.
Article
Ecology
Xuetao Qiao, Thomas Lamy, Shaopeng Wang, Yann Hautier, Yan Geng, Zhuoxiu Han, Naili Zhang, Huaijiang He, Zhonghui Zhang, Chunyu Zhang, Xiuhai Zhao, Klaus von Gadow
Summary: Selective logging is a common land use practice in forests worldwide, but it has negative effects on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. This study found that selective logging destabilizes both the aggregate functioning and species composition of forest ecosystems at multiple spatial scales. It highlights the importance of avoiding excessive selective logging and protecting forest diversity for the sustainability of forest ecosystems.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jeffrey A. Brown, Julie L. Lockwood, Max R. Piana, Caroline Beardsley
Summary: While previous studies have focused on the negative effects of light pollution on arthropods, this research examines the impact on community-level responses. Through using different lighting and traps, the study found that artificial nighttime lighting caused shifts in the presence and abundance of predators, scavengers, parasites, and herbivores. These trophic shifts occurred immediately upon the introduction of artificial light and were limited to nocturnal communities, with levels reverting to their pre-light state after the removal of light.