Species richness destabilizes ecosystem functioning in experimental aquatic microcosms

Article Abstract:

Five unicellular algal species were cultured in all possible combinations to assemble microcosms containing 1 to 5 algal species, on which a cold perturbation was imposed to find out whether and how species richness begets ecosystem resistance and resilience. Similar responses of different species to environmental perturbations limit the insurance effect of biodiversity, and lead to an inverse diversity - resistance relationship.

China, Algae, Ecological balance

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Small habitat size and isolation can promote species richness: Second-order effects on biodiversity in shallow lakes and ponds

Article Abstract:

The richness of aquatic birds, plants, amphibians and invertebrates is often relatively high in small shallow, isolated lakes because of low fish biomass and high vegetation abundance. Connection of isolated habitat fragments will reduce, rather than enhance, landscape-level biodiversity, and biodiversity at the regional level will be maximized if the local habitat patches vary widely in size and degree of connectivity.

Belgium, Habitat partitioning (Biology), Habitat partitioning (Ecology), Water birds

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A unified mathematical framework for the measurement of richness and evenness within and among multiple communities

Article Abstract:

The evaluation of richness and evenness, two aspects of biodiversity, at local and regional scales using a single family of well established, mathematically related techniques are discussed. The sample richness is evaluated using rarefaction, which normalizes for sample size, and evenness is summarized in a single value.

Plant communities

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