Exponential Decline of Deep-Sea Ecosystem Functioning Linked to Benthic Biodiversity Loss

@article{Danovaro2008ExponentialDO,
  title={Exponential Decline of Deep-Sea Ecosystem Functioning Linked to Benthic Biodiversity Loss},
  author={Roberto Danovaro and Cristina Gambi and Antonio Dell'Anno and Cinzia Corinaldesi and Simonetta Fraschetti and Ann Vanreusel and Magda Vincx and Andrew J. Gooday},
  journal={Current Biology},
  year={2008},
  volume={18},
  pages={1-8}
}
View on Elsevier
cell.com
581 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
19
Background Citations
198
Methods Citations
8
Results Citations
8

Figures and Tables from this paper

581 Citations

Is there a link between deep-sea biodiversity and ecosystem function?

TLDR
This study investigates the relationship between nematode diversity and several independent measures/proxies of ecosystem function and efficiency on the New Zealand continental slope and results are consistent with a breakdown of the exponential diversity-function relationship at high levels of diversity.

Exploring the Relationship between Macrofaunal Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning in the Deep Sea

The global scale of the biodiversity crisis has stimulated research into the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (BEF). Even though the deep sea is the largest biome on Earth,…

The deep sea: The new frontier for ecological restoration

Context dependency of relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning is different for multiple ecosystem functions

TLDR
The results indicate that the effects of biodiversity on some ecosystem functions may be sufficiently strong to generate patterns in ecosystems where other factors are also affecting ecosystem processes, but that the biodiversity-ecosystem function relationship for can be dependent on environmental conditions for specific ecosystem functions.

Eco-Functional Benthic Biodiversity Assemblage Patterns in the Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem

Functional diversity, an important component of biodiversity, has in recent years engaged global attention. This is in great part due to the mechanistic understanding achieved from functional…

Chronic and intensive bottom trawling impairs deep-sea biodiversity and ecosystem functioning

TLDR
It is shown here that bottom trawling along continental slopes has a major impact on deep-sea sedimentary ecosystems, causing their degradation and infaunal depauperation.

Seafloor heterogeneity influences the biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationships in the deep sea

TLDR
It is concluded that high-resolution seabed mapping and a detailed analysis of the species distribution at the habitat scale are crucial for improving management of goods and services delivered by deep-sea ecosystems.

Benthic biology time-series in the deep sea: indicators of change

The responsiveness of benthic biological communities to climatic drivers and shifts makes them powerful indicators of biogeochemical and other environmental change in the oceans. In addition, benthic…

Relative Contributions of Biodiversity and Environment to Benthic Ecosystem Functioning

Current concern about biodiversity change associated with human impacts has raised scientific interest in the role of biodiversity in ecosystem functioning. However, studies on this topic face the…

Biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationships in fish communities: biomass is related to evenness and the environment, not to species richness

TLDR
Using large-scale observations of marine fish communities, a structural equation modelling framework is applied and it is found that ecosystem functioning, here represented by spatial patterns in total fish biomass, is unrelated to species richness—the most commonly used diversity metric in BEF studies.
...

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 93 REFERENCES

Impacts of Biodiversity Loss on Ocean Ecosystem Services

Human-dominated marine ecosystems are experiencing accelerating loss of populations and species, with largely unknown consequences. We analyzed local experiments, long-term regional time series, and…

Biodiversity response to climate change in a warm deep sea

TLDR
It is concluded thatDeep-sea fauna is highly vulnerable to environmental alteration, and that deep-sea biodiversity is also significantly affected by very small temperature changes.

The deep-sea floor ecosystem: current status and prospects of anthropogenic change by the year 2025

TLDR
Current impacts of human activities on the deep-sea floor ecosystem are reviewed, and anthropogenic changes to this ecosystem by the year 2025 are predicted, to help assess the risk of species extinctions from large-scale mining.

Orbital forcing of deep-sea benthic species diversity

Explanations for the temporal and spatial patterns of species biodiversity focus on stability–time1–3, disturbance–mosaic (biogenie microhabitat heterogeneity)4,5 and competition–predation (biotic…

Consistent patterns and the idiosyncratic effects of biodiversity in marine ecosystems

TLDR
Variable diversity effects for species representative of marine coastal systems at both global and regional scales are demonstrated and evidence for an increase in complementary resource use as diversity increases and strong evidence for diversity effects in naturally assembled communities at a regional scale is shown.

EFFECTS OF BIODIVERSITY ON ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONING: A CONSENSUS OF CURRENT KNOWLEDGE

TLDR
Understanding this complexity, while taking strong steps to minimize current losses of species, is necessary for responsible management of Earth's ecosystems and the diverse biota they contain.

Bioturbators enhance ecosystem function through complex biogeochemical interactions

TLDR
Experimental field measurements demonstrate how the abundance of spatangoid urchins—infaunal (in seafloor sediment) grazers / deposit feeders—is positively related to primary production, as their activities change nutrient fluxes and improve conditions for production by microphytobenthos (sedimentatry microbes and unicellular algae).

Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning: Current Knowledge and Future Challenges

TLDR
Larger numbers of species are probably needed to reduce temporal variability in ecosystem processes in changing environments and to determine how biodiversity dynamics, ecosystem processes, and abiotic factors interact.

Low functional redundancy in coastal marine assemblages

TLDR
This work finds strong positive relationships between species and functional diversity, and increased functional diversity of fish assemblages coinciding with recovery of species diversity in marine reserves, independent of the method used for classifying species in functional groups.

BIODIVERSITY LOSS AND ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONING: DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN NUMBER AND IDENTITY OF SPECIES

TLDR
There was no relationship between ecosystem functioning and diversity per se, but that different species had idiosyncratic effects, and this appears to be a common feature of intertidal systems, which often contain strongly interacting species.
...