Biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships in long-term time series and palaeoecological records: deep sea as a test bed.
The link between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (BEF) over long temporal scales is poorly understood. Here, we investigate biological monitoring and palaeoecological records on decadal, centennial and millennial time scales from a BEF framework by using deep sea, soft-sediment environments as a test bed. Results generally show positive BEF relationships, in agreement with BEF studies based on present-day spatial analyses and short-term manipulative experiments. However, the deep-sea BEF relationship is much noisier across longer time scales compared with modern observational studies. We also demonstrate with palaeoecological time-series data that a larger species pool does not enhance ecosystem stability through time, whereas higher abundance as an indicator of higher ecosystem functioning may enhance ecosystem stability. These results suggest that BEF relationships are potentially time scale-dependent. Environmental impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning may be much stronger than biodiversity impacts on ecosystem functioning at long, decadal-millennial, time scales. Longer time scale perspectives, including palaeoecological and ecosystem monitoring data, are critical for predicting future BEF relationships on a rapidly changing planet.
School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam Road, Hong Kong SAR, China Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam Road, Hong Kong SAR, China Swire Institute of Marine Science, The University of Hong Kong, Cape d'Aguilar Road, Shek O, Hong Kong SAR, China moriakiyasuhara@gmail.com yasuhara@hku.hk.
Moriaki
0000-0003-0990-1764
M
Yasuhara
Graduate School of Simulation Studies, University of Hyogo, 7-1-28 Minatojima Minami-machi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0047, Japan hideyuki.doi@icloud.com.
Hideyuki
0000-0002-2701-3982
H
Doi
Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan clwei@ntu.edu.tw.
Chih-Lin
CL
Wei
Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Napoli, Italy.
Roberto
R
Danovaro
Future of Ice Initiative, University of Washington, Johnson Hall, Room 377A, Box 351310 Seattle, WA 98195-1310, USA.
Sarah E
SE
Myhre
D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D018533:Biomass; D003445:Crustacea / Q000502:physiology*; D004463:Ecology; D017753:Ecosystem; D008954:Models, Biological; D009348:Nematoda / Q000502:physiology*; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D010163:Paleontology; D011157:Population Dynamics
biodiversity; biological time series; ecosystem functioning; meiofauna; microfossils; palaeoecology