title: Alternative hypotheses to explain why biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships are concave-up in some natural ecosystems but concave-down in manipulative experiments.
abstract: Recent studies of the relationship between biodiversity and functioning in marine ecosystems have yielded non-saturating patterns that contrast sharply with the results of experimental studies, where ecosystem functioning rapidly saturates with increases in biodiversity. Here we provide a simple theoretical framework of three alternative hypotheses that, individually or combined, are likely to explain this contrast: i) the use of functional richness instead of species richness, ii) an increased production efficiency of species in producing biomass when more ecological interactions are present, and iii) the fact that communities are likely assembled in an ordered succession of species from low to high ecological efficiency. Our results provide theoretical support for concave-up biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships in natural ecosystems and confirm that the loss of species can have substantially larger effects on the functioning of natural ecosystems than anticipated from controlled manipulative experiments.
authors: Department of Geography, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.
authors: Camilo
authors: C
authors: Mora
authors: 1] Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona, Italy [2] Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121, Naples, Italy.
authors: Roberto
authors: R
authors: Danovaro
authors: Centre for Biodiversity Theory and Modelling, Station d'Ecologie Expérimentale du CNRS, 09200 Moulis, France.
authors: Michel
authors: M
authors: Loreau
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D018533:Biomass; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D057894:Coral Reefs; D017753:Ecosystem; D005399:Fishes / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D020387:Food Chain; D006801:Humans; D007448:Invertebrates / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D008386:Marine Biology; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009348:Nematoda / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D011157:Population Dynamics; D013045:Species Specificity