Heterogeneity within and among co-occurring foundation species increases biodiversity

Mads S. Thomsen, Andrew H. Altieri, Christine Angelini, Melanie J. Bishop, Fabio Bulleri, Roxanne Farhan, Viktoria M. M. Frühling, Paul E. Gribben, Seamus B. Harrison, Qiang He (), Moritz Klinghardt, Joachim Langeneck, Brendan S. Lanham, Luca Mondardini, Yannick Mulders, Semonn Oleksyn, Aaron P. Ramus, David R. Schiel, Tristan Schneider, Alfonso Siciliano, Brian R. Silliman, Dan A. Smale, Paul M. South, Thomas Wernberg, Stacy Zhang and Gerhard Zotz
Additional contact information
Mads S. Thomsen: University of Canterbury
Andrew H. Altieri: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Christine Angelini: University of Florida
Melanie J. Bishop: Macquarie University
Fabio Bulleri: Università di Pisa, CoNISMa
Roxanne Farhan: University of Georgia
Viktoria M. M. Frühling: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Paul E. Gribben: University of New South Wales
Seamus B. Harrison: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Qiang He: Fudan University
Moritz Klinghardt: Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg
Joachim Langeneck: Università di Pisa, CoNISMa
Brendan S. Lanham: University of New South Wales
Luca Mondardini: University of Canterbury
Yannick Mulders: University of Western Australia
Semonn Oleksyn: Macquarie University
Aaron P. Ramus: University of North Carolina Wilmington
David R. Schiel: University of Canterbury
Tristan Schneider: Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg
Alfonso Siciliano: University of Canterbury
Brian R. Silliman: Duke University
Dan A. Smale: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, The Laboratory
Paul M. South: Cawthron Institute
Thomas Wernberg: University of Western Australia
Stacy Zhang: Duke University
Gerhard Zotz: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Habitat heterogeneity is considered a primary causal driver underpinning patterns of diversity, yet the universal role of heterogeneity in structuring biodiversity is unclear due to a lack of coordinated experiments testing its effects across geographic scales and habitat types. Furthermore, key species interactions that can enhance heterogeneity, such as facilitation cascades of foundation species, have been largely overlooked in general biodiversity models. Here, we performed 22 geographically distributed experiments in different ecosystems and biogeographical regions to assess the extent to which variation in biodiversity is explained by three axes of habitat heterogeneity: the amount of habitat, its morphological complexity, and capacity to provide ecological resources (e.g. food) within and between co-occurring foundation species. We show that positive and additive effects across the three axes of heterogeneity are common, providing a compelling mechanistic insight into the universal importance of habitat heterogeneity in promoting biodiversity via cascades of facilitative interactions. Because many aspects of habitat heterogeneity can be controlled through restoration and management interventions, our findings are directly relevant to biodiversity conservation.

Date: 2022
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-28194-y Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:13:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-022-28194-y

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28194-y

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().