Multitrophic functional diversity predicts ecosystem functioning in experimental assemblages of estuarine consumers

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Ecosystem Science
• Food Web Dynamics

Background:

• Functional traits explain biodiversity's impact on ecosystem functioning.
• Multitrophic communities and a priori manipulation of functional diversity are understudied.
• Understanding species richness vs. functional diversity is key for ecosystem management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test how species richness and functional diversity predict ecosystem functioning in a multitrophic food web.
• To manipulate multivariate functional diversity of estuarine grazers and predators.
• To compare the predictive power of functional diversity versus species richness.

Main Methods:

• Experimental manipulation of functional diversity in estuarine grazers and predators.
• Utilizing generalized linear mixed-effects models to analyze ecosystem properties.
• Employing structural equation modeling to assess trait impacts on biomass.

Main Results:

• Community functional diversity was a stronger predictor of ecosystem properties than species richness.
• A multivariate index of eight traits improved model prediction accuracy.
• Functional diversity of grazers and predators significantly influenced trophic level biomass, with predators having a stronger effect.

Conclusions:

• Functional diversity is a more accurate predictor of community biomass in food webs than species richness.
• Both sampling effects and complementarity contribute to ecosystem responses.
• This study extends functional trait diversity research to multilevel food webs.