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Linking Predation Risk, Herbivore Physiological Stress and Microbial Decomposition of Plant Litter

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The intermediate disturbance hypothesis should be abandoned.

¹Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. NW Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada. jefox@ucalgary.ca

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

|September 18, 2012

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

The intermediate disturbance hypothesis (IDH), which predicts maximum species diversity at mid-level environmental change, is not supported by evidence. This study argues for abandoning the IDH due to flawed empirical and theoretical foundations.

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Area of Science:

Ecology
Biodiversity Science

Background:

The intermediate disturbance hypothesis (IDH) is a prominent ecological theory.
IDH posits that species diversity is maximized at intermediate levels of disturbance or environmental fluctuation.
This hypothesis attempts to explain patterns of biodiversity in response to environmental changes.

Purpose of the Study:

To critically evaluate the empirical and theoretical validity of the intermediate disturbance hypothesis.
To argue for the abandonment of the IDH as a functional ecological model.
To propose that disturbances affect species diversity through mechanisms not captured by the IDH.

Main Methods:

Review of empirical studies testing the diversity-disturbance relationship.
Theoretical analysis of the mechanisms proposed to support the IDH.
Assessment of the logical coherence and predictive power of IDH mechanisms.

Main Results:

Empirical evidence supporting a humped diversity-disturbance relationship is rare.
The primary theoretical mechanisms underlying the IDH are logically flawed.
Existing theoretical frameworks do not accurately predict the observed diversity-disturbance patterns.

Conclusions:

The intermediate disturbance hypothesis is not empirically supported and theoretically unsound.
The IDH should be discarded as a valid ecological principle.
Alternative explanations are needed to understand how environmental fluctuations influence species diversity.