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Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Environmental Science
  • Biodiversity Research

Background:

  • Multiple drivers of ecological change may interact synergistically, accelerating biodiversity loss.
  • The prevalence and magnitude of these interactions are uncertain, impacting future ecological projections.
  • Synergistic interactions are often assumed to be rampant in ecological communities.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To address uncertainty in ecological change projections by analyzing multiple stressor interactions.
  • To determine the prevalence and magnitude of synergistic effects in animal mortality across diverse communities.
  • To evaluate the prevailing ecological paradigm regarding rampant synergistic interactions.

Main Methods:

  • Conducted a meta-analysis of 112 published factorial experiments.
  • Investigated the impacts of multiple stressors on animal mortality.
  • Included studies from freshwater, marine, and terrestrial communities, encompassing various stressors, organisms, and life-history stages.

Main Results:

  • On average, mortalities from combined stressors were not synergistic.
  • This finding was consistent across different stressors, study organisms, and life-history stages.
  • Only one-third of experiments showed truly synergistic effects, challenging the notion of rampant synergies.

Conclusions:

  • Synergistic interactions are not as prevalent as commonly assumed in ecological communities.
  • Non-additive effects (synergies or antagonisms) were observed in over three-quarters of experiments.
  • Ecological surprises resulting from non-additive multiple stressor interactions may be more common than simple additive effects.