Exponential decline of deep-sea ecosystem functioning linked to benthic biodiversity loss
Exponential decline of deep-sea ecosystem functioning linked to benthic biodiversity loss
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DOI：
10.1016/j.cub.2007.11.056
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发表时间：
2008-01-08
期刊：
影响因子：
9.2
通讯作者：
Gooday, Andrew J.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Danovaro, Roberto;Gambi, Cristina;Gooday, Andrew J.
背景：最近的调查表明，生物多样性的丧失可能会损害生态系统的功能和可持续性。尽管深海生态系统是地球上最广泛的生态系统，是最大的生物量储存库，并拥有很大比例的未发现生物多样性，但完全缺乏评估海底生物多样性丧失后果所需的数据。结果：在这里，我们提出了一项基于116个深海站点的全球规模的研究，该研究将海底生物多样性与生态系统功能和效率的几个独立指标联系起来。我们表明，深海生态系统的功能与深海生物多样性呈指数关系，生态系统效率也与功能生物多样性呈指数关系。这些结果表明，更高的生物多样性支持更高的生态系统进程速率和执行这些进程的更高效率。这里给出的指数关系在广泛的深海生态系统中是一致的，表明相互积极的功能相互作用(生态促进)在我们生物圈最大的生物圈中可能是常见的。结论：我们的结果表明，深海生态系统中生物多样性的丧失可能与其功能的指数下降有关。由于深海在全球范围内的生态和生物地球化学过程中发挥着关键作用，这项研究提供了科学证据，表明保护深海生物多样性是世界海洋可持续运作的优先事项。
Background: Recent investigations suggest that biodiversity loss might impair the functioning and sustainability of ecosystems. Although deep-sea ecosystems are the most extensive on Earth, represent the largest reservoir of biomass, and host a large proportion of undiscovered biodiversity, the data needed to evaluate the consequences of biodiversity loss on the ocean floor are completely lacking. Results: Here, we present a global-scale study based on 116 deep-sea sites that relates benthic biodiversity to several independent indicators of ecosystem functioning and efficiency. We show that deep-sea ecosystem functioning is exponentially related to deep-sea biodiversity and that ecosystem efficiency is also exponentially linked to functional biodiversity. These results suggest that a higher biodiversity supports higher rates of ecosystem processes and an increased efficiency with which these processes are performed. The exponential relationships presented here, being consistent across a wide range of deep-sea ecosystems, suggest that mutually positive functional interactions (ecological facilitation) can be common in the largest biome of our biosphere. Conclusions: Our results suggest that a biodiversity loss in deep-sea ecosystems might be associated with exponential reductions of their functions. Because the deep sea plays a key role in ecological and biogeochemical processes at a global scale, this study provides scientific evidence that the conservation of deep-sea biodiversity is a priority for a sustainable functioning of the worlds' oceans.