Removing the confounding effect of habitat specialization reveals the stabilizing contribution of diversity to species variability.
Proc Biol Sci
; 270 Suppl 2: S198-201, 2003 Nov 07.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-14667382
Earlier studies have found that diversity, S, stabilizes the relative variability of combined biomass or abundance of species making up a community. However, the effect of S on variability of constituent species has been elusive. We hypothesize that the proportion of specialists increases with S and, because specialists are more variable, this shift in composition will mask the stabilizing effect of S on populations of species making up a community. The test uses data on variability and ecological specialization of species in 49 natural rock pool invertebrate communities. Initial analyses produced inconclusive results similar to earlier studies. However, when variability owing to species' specialization was factored out, S reduced species' abundance variability, although not in all communities. Our study explains why the stabilizing effect of diversity on populations has not been found earlier.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Adaptação Biológica
/
Biodiversidade
/
Meio Ambiente
/
Modelos Biológicos
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Animals
País/Região como assunto:
Caribe ingles
/
Jamaica
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Proc Biol Sci
Assunto da revista:
BIOLOGIA
Ano de publicação:
2003
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Canadá
País de publicação:
Reino Unido