Andy Hector, Thomas Bell, John Connolly, John Finn, Jeremy Fox, Laura Kirwan, Michel Loreau, Jennie McLaren, Bernhard Schmid, and Alexandra Weigelt
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199547951
- eISBN:
- 9780191720345
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199547951.003.0007
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology, Biodiversity / Conservation Biology
Meta-analysis of the first generation of biodiversity experiments has revealed that there is a general positive relationship between diversity and ecosystem processes that is consistent across ...
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Meta-analysis of the first generation of biodiversity experiments has revealed that there is a general positive relationship between diversity and ecosystem processes that is consistent across trophic groups and ecosystem types. However, the mechanisms generating these general patterns are still under debate. While there are unresolved conceptual issues about the nature of diversity and complementarity, the debate is partly due to the difficulty of performing a full-factorial analysis of the functional effects of all species in a diverse community. However, there are now several different analytical approaches that can address mechanisms even when full factorial analysis is not possible. This chapter presents an overview and users' guide to these methods. This chapter concludes that the current toolbox of methods allows investigation of the mechanisms for most, if not all, biodiversity and ecosystem functioning experiments conducted to date that manipulate species within a single trophic level (e.g. plant biodiversity experiments). Methods that can address mechanisms in multitrophic studies are a key need for future research.Less
Meta-analysis of the first generation of biodiversity experiments has revealed that there is a general positive relationship between diversity and ecosystem processes that is consistent across trophic groups and ecosystem types. However, the mechanisms generating these general patterns are still under debate. While there are unresolved conceptual issues about the nature of diversity and complementarity, the debate is partly due to the difficulty of performing a full-factorial analysis of the functional effects of all species in a diverse community. However, there are now several different analytical approaches that can address mechanisms even when full factorial analysis is not possible. This chapter presents an overview and users' guide to these methods. This chapter concludes that the current toolbox of methods allows investigation of the mechanisms for most, if not all, biodiversity and ecosystem functioning experiments conducted to date that manipulate species within a single trophic level (e.g. plant biodiversity experiments). Methods that can address mechanisms in multitrophic studies are a key need for future research.
Lisandro Benedetti-Cecchi and Elena Maggi
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- December 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199642250
- eISBN:
- 9780191774768
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199642250.003.0006
- Subject:
- Biology, Aquatic Biology
This chapter examines a biodiversity-ecosystem function experiment, which includes the manipulation of algal richness and abundance in factorial combinations, using mixed-effect models. It also ...
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This chapter examines a biodiversity-ecosystem function experiment, which includes the manipulation of algal richness and abundance in factorial combinations, using mixed-effect models. It also analyses the magnitude of richness effects relative to the strength of density-dependent processes. It illustrates the procedure of partitioning species abundance (density-dependent) and species richness effects using data from a biodiversity experiment performed on the rocky shores south of Livorno in Italy. It also discusses treatment effects on Simpson diversity.Less
This chapter examines a biodiversity-ecosystem function experiment, which includes the manipulation of algal richness and abundance in factorial combinations, using mixed-effect models. It also analyses the magnitude of richness effects relative to the strength of density-dependent processes. It illustrates the procedure of partitioning species abundance (density-dependent) and species richness effects using data from a biodiversity experiment performed on the rocky shores south of Livorno in Italy. It also discusses treatment effects on Simpson diversity.