par Pathak Broome, Aranya 
Promoteur Vanschoenwinkel, Bram
Co-Promoteur VANJARE, Avinash Isaac;PADHYE, Sameer
Publication Non publié, 2022-08-30
Promoteur Vanschoenwinkel, Bram
Co-Promoteur VANJARE, Avinash Isaac;PADHYE, Sameer
Publication Non publié, 2022-08-30
Mémoire
| Résumé : | Various biotic and abiotic factors influence the distribution of biodiversity at global and local scales. An additional factor is the recent anthropogenic pressure leading to biodiversity loss. Biodiversity has also been shown to play a role in ecosystem functioning and this is recognised as the biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) relationship. The objective of this study was to better understand the drivers of biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and global BEF gradients. We compared the effects of biodiversity (species richness) on ecosystem functioning (biomass) using two different measures: the species pool diversity captured by gamma richness and the local diversity captured by alpha richness. We did this using a replicated observational study with freshwater rock pool invertebrate metacommunities on rocky outcrops as appropriate model systems that are characterised by local variation in alpha richness and regional variation in gamma richness. We found that mean temperature and seasonality of both, temperature, and precipitation, influenced the gamma richness of the locations, and pool depth influenced the alpha richness of the pools. Both alpha richness and depth of the pools also directly influenced the biomass. A positive trend was also observed between the gamma richness and the biomass. The results of this study hold significance in providing evidence of the BEF relationship in a replicated observational study of aquatic invertebrate metacommunities and disentangling the environmental factors that influence this relationship. Our results can also help inform how BEF results should be interpreted to guide conservation initiatives in the current global environmental crisis. |
