Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 28, 2026
08:16
Experimental Protocol for Manipulating Plant-induced Soil Heterogeneity
Published on: March 13, 2014
Animal ecosystem engineers modulate the diversity-invasibility relationship.
Nico Eisenhauer1, Alexandru Milcu, Alexander C W Sabais
1Darmstadt University of Technology, Institute of Zoology, Darmstadt, Germany. eisenhauer@bio.tu-darmstadt.de
Plos One
|October 23, 2008
Summary
Earthworms can decrease grassland stability by aiding invasive plant spread, especially in moderately diverse plant communities. Increasing plant diversity generally enhances community stability against invasions.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Community Ecology
- Invasive Species Biology
Background:
- Non-indigenous species invasions pose a significant global threat to biodiversity.
- Biodiversity enhances community stability and resistance to invasions.
- Ecosystem engineers, like earthworms, influence species dynamics but are often overlooked in diversity-invasibility research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of earthworms in modulating plant diversity-invasibility relationships.
- To determine how earthworm abundance affects plant invasion and community stability.
- To examine earthworms' function as secondary seed dispersers across a plant diversity gradient.
Main Methods:
- Experimental manipulation of plant species and functional group diversity in grassland plots.
- Controlled addition and reduction of earthworm abundance in subplots.
- Seed-dummy experiments to assess earthworm-mediated seed dispersal.
Main Results:
- Earthworm abundance positively correlated with invasive plant number and diversity.
- Earthworm-mediated seed dispersal decreased with increasing plant species richness and grass presence.
- Earthworms reduced grassland community stability against plant invasion, particularly in intermediate diversity plots.
Conclusions:
- Plant diversity enhances community stability and reduces invasibility.
- Earthworms significantly modulate the diversity-invasibility relationship.
- Soil fauna play a critical role in fundamental plant community processes, necessitating interdisciplinary research.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
02:39Predator-Prey Interactions
Predators consume prey for energy. Predators that acquire prey and prey that avoid predation both increase their chances of survival and reproduction (i.e., fitness). Routine predator-prey interactions elicit mutual adaptations that improve predator offenses, such as claws, teeth, and speed, as well as prey defenses, including crypsis, aposematism, and mimicry. Thus, predator-prey interactions resemble an evolutionary arms race.Although predation is commonly associated with carnivory, for...
02:26Ecological Disturbance
An ecological disturbance is a temporary disruption in the environment resulting from abiotic, biotic, or anthropogenic factors, causing a pronounced change in an ecosystem. The impact of an ecological disturbance, which can depend on its intensity, frequency, and spatial distribution, plays a significant role in shaping the species diversity within the ecosystem.Ecological disturbances can be caused by an event as small as the trampling of underbrush to an incident as wide-ranging as a forest...
01:50Threats to Biodiversity
There have been five major extinction events throughout geological history, resulting in the elimination of biodiversity, followed by a rebound of species that adapted to the new conditions. In the current geological epoch, the Holocene, there is a sixth extinction event in progress. This mass extinction has been attributed to human activities and is thus provisionally called the Anthropocene. In 2019 the human population reached 7.7 billion people and is projected to comprise 10 billion by...
01:24Evolution of New Traits in Microbes
Microorganisms evolve rapidly due to their large population sizes and short generation times, often exhibiting measurable changes within days under laboratory conditions. Natural selection acts on standing genetic variation, enabling the retention and amplification of beneficial traits that confer fitness advantages in changing environments.Adaptive Pigment Regulation in RhodobacterIn Rhodobacter, a genus of purple non-sulfur bacteria, light-harvesting pigments such as bacteriochlorophyll and...
02:02Ecological Niches
All organisms have a position within an ecosystem. The complete set of living and nonliving factors—including food resources, climate, and terrain—that define the position of a given organism are collectively referred to as the organism’s ecological niche.Multiple species cannot occupy the exact same niche within their habitat. If the niches of two or more species overlap to a large extent, the competitive exclusion principle dictates that one species will outcompete the other, forcing it to...
01:38Limits to Natural Selection
Organisms that are well-adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. However, natural selection does not lead to perfectly adapted organisms. Several factors constrain natural selection.For one, natural selection can only act upon existing genetic variation. Hypothetically, redtusks may enhance elephant survival by deterring ivory-seeking poachers. However, if there are no gene variants—or alleles—for redtusks, natural selection cannot increase the prevalence of...