Experimental evidence for the effects of dung beetle functional group richness and composition on ecosystem function in a tropical forest.
Experimental evidence for the effects of dung beetle functional group richness and composition on ecosystem function in a tropical forest.
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粪甲虫功能群丰富度和组成对热带森林生态系统功能影响的实验证据。
DOI：
10.1111/j.1365-2656.2007.01296.x
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发表时间：
2007
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
O. Lewis
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
E. Slade;D. Mann;J. F. Villanueva;O. Lewis
关于物种丰富度或功能类群丰富度与生态系统功能测度之间关系的文献大多集中在有限的生态系统功能测度和分类类群上。在实地的实际多样性水平下，特别是在热带森林等高度多样性的生态系统中，很少进行这种研究。采用排除实验研究了马来西亚婆罗洲沙巴常绿热带森林中屎壳虫功能群丰富度和组成对两个相互联系且功能重要的生态过程——粪清除和次生种子传播的影响。总体而言，粪和种子去除量随功能群丰富度的增加而增加。然而，生态系统功能的水平是特殊的，取决于所存在的功能群的身份，这表明功能群组成的重要作用。没有证据表明功能群之间存在干扰或竞争。我们发现了过度屈服和越界过度屈服的有力证据，表明官能团之间存在互补或促进作用。并不是所有的混合物都表现出越界的过度屈服，因此互补性仅限于特定的官能团组合。单一功能组的甲虫（大型夜间隧道掘进者）对生态系统功能的测量具有不成比例的影响：在它们缺席的情况下，粪便清除减少了约75%。然而，为了最大限度地发挥生态系统的功能，需要一个完整的功能群。这项研究强调了功能群特征和物种组成在确定物种相对丰度灭绝或改变模式的生态系统后果方面的重要性。
Much of the literature on the relationship between species richness or functional group richness and measures of ecosystem function focuses on a restricted set of ecosystem function measures and taxonomic groups. Few such studies have been carried out under realistic levels of diversity in the field, particularly in high diversity ecosystems such as tropical forests. We used exclusion experiments to study the effects of dung beetle functional group richness and composition on two interlinked and functionally important ecological processes, dung removal and secondary seed dispersal, in evergreen tropical forest in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Overall, both dung and seed removal increased with dung beetle functional group richness. However, levels of ecosystem functioning were idiosyncratic depending on the identity of the functional groups present, indicating an important role for functional group composition. There was no evidence for interference or competition among functional groups. We found strong evidence for overyielding and transgressive overyielding, suggesting complementarity or facilitation among functional groups. Not all mixtures showed transgressive overyielding, so that complementarity was restricted to particular functional group combinations. Beetles in a single functional group (large nocturnal tunnellers) had a disproportionate influence on measures of ecosystem function: in their absence dung removal is reduced by approximately 75%. However, a full complement of functional groups is required to maximize ecosystem functioning. This study highlights the importance of both functional group identity and species composition in determining the ecosystem consequences of extinctions or altered patterns in the relative abundance of species.