Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Biodiversity and Human Values

Biodiversity and Human Values

Human civilization relies on biodiversity in many ways. Sudden changes in species biodiversity result in environmental changes that can modify weather patterns and therefore human civilizations.

Threats to Biodiversity

Threats 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...

What is Biodiversity?

What is Biodiversity?

Biodiversity describes the variety of living things at multiple organizational levels: genetic, species and ecosystem diversity. Species diversity includes all branches of the evolutionary tree from single-celled prokaryotic organisms, bacteria, and archaea, to the eukaryotic kingdoms: plants; animals; fungi; and protists. To date, there have been about 1.75 million species identified, and new species are discovered every week.

Ecological Niches

Ecological 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...

What is an Ecosystem?

What is an Ecosystem?

Methods to Assess Microbial Communities

Methods to Assess Microbial Communities

Microbial communities, comprising bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotic microorganisms, inhabit diverse ecosystems and play crucial roles in environmental and biological processes. Their diversity is defined by three main parameters: species richness (the number of distinct species), species abundance (the relative quantity of each species), and species evenness (how uniformly individual species are distributed in various locations). These factors together shape the structure and ecological balance...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Towards Key Principles of Host-Associated Microbiome Assembly.

Ecology letters·2026

Same author

A fixed methane filter maximizes freshwater emissions under warming.

Nature climate change·2026

Same author

A finely annotated dataset for the automated acoustic identification of European Orthoptera and Cicadidae.

Scientific data·2026

Same author

Whole-stream wastewater addition stimulates the green food web pathway but does not affect food chain length.

Hydrobiologia·2026

Same author

Habitat Complexity Reduces the Feeding Strength of Freshwater Predators.

Ecology and evolution·2025

Same author

Overcoming the disconnect between species interaction networks and biodiversity conservation.

Trends in ecology & evolution·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 21, 2026

JenaTron - An Experimental Approach to Study the Effects of Plant History and Soil History on Grassland Ecosystem Functioning

JenaTron - An Experimental Approach to Study the Effects of Plant History and Soil History on Grassland Ecosystem Functioning

Published on: March 21, 2025

Emerging horizons in biodiversity and ecosystem functioning research.

Julia Reiss¹, Jon R Bridle, José M Montoya

¹School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK. j.reiss@qmul.ac.uk

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

|July 15, 2009

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (B-EF) research has evolved from species richness to functional diversity and food web interactions. Understanding these complex relationships requires examining traits, multiple processes, and multitrophic dynamics.

More Related Videos

Field Collection and Laboratory Maintenance of Canopy-Forming Giant Kelp to Facilitate Restoration

Field Collection and Laboratory Maintenance of Canopy-Forming Giant Kelp to Facilitate Restoration

Published on: June 7, 2024

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications

Published on: January 19, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 21, 2026

JenaTron - An Experimental Approach to Study the Effects of Plant History and Soil History on Grassland Ecosystem Functioning

JenaTron - An Experimental Approach to Study the Effects of Plant History and Soil History on Grassland Ecosystem Functioning

Published on: March 21, 2025

Field Collection and Laboratory Maintenance of Canopy-Forming Giant Kelp to Facilitate Restoration

Field Collection and Laboratory Maintenance of Canopy-Forming Giant Kelp to Facilitate Restoration

Published on: June 7, 2024

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications

Published on: January 19, 2018

Area of Science:

Ecology
Environmental Science

Background:

Decades of research confirm a link between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (B-EF).
Early studies focused on species richness and single ecosystem processes.
Recent research incorporates functional diversity and multiple ecosystem processes.

Purpose of the Study:

To review the quantification of responses and predictors in B-EF experiments.
To explore how multitrophic interactions shape biodiversity effects.
To discuss integrating B-EF metrics with food web dynamics.

Main Methods:

Literature review of B-EF research over two decades.
Analysis of shifts in biodiversity and ecosystem functioning metrics.
Examination of experimental approaches and theoretical frameworks.

Main Results:

A significant evolution in B-EF research methodologies and scope.
Increased focus on functional diversity and multiple ecosystem processes.
Growing recognition of the importance of food web context and multitrophic interactions.

Conclusions:

Future B-EF research must integrate trait-based approaches, multiple ecosystem processes, and food web interactions.
A holistic approach is necessary to elucidate the mechanisms driving B-EF relationships in natural systems.
Understanding complex ecological networks is crucial for predicting ecosystem responses to biodiversity changes.