Species Diversity in Space and Time

Rosenzweig, Michael L.

doi:10.1017/cbo9780511623387

Cited by 4,950 publications

(6,040 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

268

Mentioning

5,539

Contrasting

Unclassified

170

Order By: Relevance

“…Brown, 1984 ;Currie & Paquin, 1987;Turner, Lennon & Lawrenson, 1988 ;Wilson & Keddy, 1988; reviewed by Gaston, 2000) and continues to the present; over one hundred papers addressed the topic in the first three years of the 21st century (WoS literature search). This literature strongly supports the hypothesis that energy correlates positively with species richness and this relationship is considered to be one of the few universal ecological laws (Huston, 1994;Rosenzweig, 1995), but a mechanistic understanding has proven elusive. Species-energy relationships largely fall into one of two categories.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 76%

Species–energy relationships at the macroecological scale: a review of the mechanisms

2005

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Correlations between the amount of energy received by an assemblage and the number of species that it contains are very general, and at the macro-scale such species-energy relationships typically follow a monotonically increasing curve. Whilst the ecological literature contains frequent reports of such relationships, debate on their causal mechanisms is limited and typically focuses on the role of energy availability in controlling the number of individuals in an assemblage. Assemblages from high-energy areas may contain more individuals enabling species to maintain larger, more viable populations, whose lower extinction risk elevates species richness. Other mechanisms have, however, also been suggested. Here we identify and clarify nine principal mechanisms that may generate positive species-energy relationships at the macro-scale. We critically assess their assumptions and applicability over a range of spatial scales, derive predictions for each and assess the evidence that supports or refutes them. Our synthesis demonstrates that all mechanisms share at least one of their predictions with an alternative mechanism. Some previous studies of species-energy relationships appear not to have recognised the extent of shared predictions, and this may detract from their contribution to the debate on causal mechanisms. The combination of predictions and assumptions made by each mechanism is, however, unique, suggesting that, in principle, conclusive tests are possible. Sufficient testing of all mechanisms has yet to be conducted, and no single mechanism currently has unequivocal support. Each may contribute to species-energy relationships in some circumstances, but some mechanisms are unlikely to act simultaneously. Moreover, a limited number appear particularly likely to contribute frequently to species-energy relationships at the macro-scale. The increased population size, niche position and diversification rate mechanisms are particularly noteworthy in this context.

show abstract

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 76%

Species–energy relationships at the macroecological scale: a review of the mechanisms

2005

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In fact, soil C/N, an indicator of the relative quality of soil organic matter [41], was the abiotic variable most related to differences in microbial community composition across the plant diversity gradient and among monocultures. We expected soil carbon concentrations to play an important role as well, given the importance of available energy in structuring communities [8,38], but we found no evidence of such a link. Although we did find a correlation between microbial community differences and soil C/N, it was always low (the correlation coefficient never exceeded 0.10).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 61%

The Influence of Tropical Plant Diversity and Composition on Soil Microbial Communities

2006

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There is growing interest in understanding the linkages between above-and belowground communities, and very little is known about these linkages in tropical systems. Using an experimental site at La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica, we examined whether plant diversity, plant community composition, and season influenced microbial communities. We also determined whether soil characteristics were related to differences in microbial communities. Phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) composition revealed that microbial community composition differed across a plant diversity gradient (plots contained 1, 3, 5, or over 25 species). Plant species identity also was a factor influencing microbial community composition; PLFA composition significantly varied among monocultures, and among three-species combinations that differed in plant species composition. Differences among treatments within each of these comparisons were apparent in all four sampling dates of the study. There was no consistent shift in microbial community composition between wet and dry seasons, although we did see significant changes over time. Of all measured soil characteristics, soil C/N was most often associated with changes in microbial community composition across treatment groups. Our findings provide evidence for human alteration of soil microbial communities via the alteration of plant community composition and diversity and that such changes are mediated in part by changes in soil carbon quality.

show abstract

“…Indeed, the need for nonlinear growth rates in the context of multispecies communities has often been discussed in the literature (Pimm, 1991;Rosenzweig, 1995;Vandemeer et al, 2002). Functional responses of the form (3) were used by McCann et al (1998) in their investigation of the effects of weak links.…”

Section: Simulation Results: Food Web Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of nonlinear functional responses on the long-term evolution of food web structure

Drossel

McKane

Quince

2004

Journal of Theoretical Biology

107

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We investigate the long-term web structure emerging in evolutionary food web models when different types of functional responses are used. We find that large and complex webs with several trophic layers arise only if the population dynamics is such that it allows predators to focus on their best prey species. This can be achieved using modified Lotka-Volterra or Holling/Beddington functional responses with effective couplings that depend on the predator's efficiency at exploiting the prey, or a ratio-dependent functional response with adaptive foraging. In contrast, if standard Lotka-Volterra or Holling/Beddington functional responses are used, long-term evolution generates webs with almost all species being basal, and with additionally many links between these species. Interestingly, in all cases studied, a large proportion of weak links result naturally from the evolution of the food webs.

show abstract

Species Diversity in Space and Time

Cited by 4,950 publications

References 0 publications

Species–energy relationships at the macroecological scale: a review of the mechanisms

Species–energy relationships at the macroecological scale: a review of the mechanisms

The Influence of Tropical Plant Diversity and Composition on Soil Microbial Communities

The impact of nonlinear functional responses on the long-term evolution of food web structure

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About