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Science 12 November 2004:
Vol. 306. no. 5699, p. 1097
DOI: 10.1126/science.306.5699.1097j
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This Week in Science
 Two major themes in ecological research are the dynamics of biodiversity loss in ecosystems, especially with respect to the effects of invasive species, and the relation between biodiversity (in the form of species richness) and the functioning of ecosystems (see the Perspective by Raffaelli). Zavaleta and Hulvey (p. 1175) provide a bridge between these two areas by testing how an observed sequence of species losses influenced ecosystem functioning. Species were lost in a particular sequence from grassland patches involving the rapid and early loss of unique functional groups. Losses, even of rare species, had strong effects on resource uptake and on the ability of the ecosystem to resist invasion by alien species. Using data from marine benthic invertebrate species, Solan et al. (p. 1177) model how the loss of biodiversity will impact ocean sediment bioturbation, the disturbance of sediment layers by biological activity which affects the fluxes of energy and matter that sustain marine ecosystems. Loss of biodiversity will reduce the depth of oxygenated sediments in ocean benthic habitats and likely alter fluxes of energy and matter on a global scale. Because the risk of extinction is generally correlated to the biological traits of species that influence bioturbation, the consequences of biodiversity loss depend on the order in which species go extinct and on the ultimate cause of the extinction.
CREDIT: SOLAN ET AL. |
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)
