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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...

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Measuring the Structure, Composition, and Change of Underwater Environments with Large-area Imaging

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Does Biodiversity-Ecosystem Function Literature Neglect Tropical Ecosystems?

David A Clarke¹, Paul H York², Michael A Rasheed²

¹Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, and College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Smithfield, QLD 4878, Australia; Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research (TropWATER), James Cook University, Smithfield, QLD 4878, Australia.

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

|March 11, 2017

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Biodiversity boosts ecosystem functioning, but most research is from temperate zones. More tropical research is crucial to understand these vital, high-biodiversity ecosystems.

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Area of Science:

Ecology
Environmental Science
Biodiversity Research

Background:

Existing research indicates a positive link between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.
However, the majority of studies originate from temperate ecosystems.
Tropical regions, harboring the planet's highest biodiversity, remain underrepresented in this research.

Purpose of the Study:

To explore the implications of applying findings from temperate biodiversity studies to tropical ecosystems.
To highlight the necessity for expanded research within tropical environments.
To propose hypotheses regarding the generalization of biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships across different biomes.

Main Methods:

Literature review and synthesis of current evidence.
Development of theoretical hypotheses based on existing data.
Comparative analysis of temperate and tropical ecosystem characteristics.

Main Results:

Generalizing findings from temperate to tropical ecosystems may be problematic due to differing biodiversity levels and ecological dynamics.
Two distinct hypotheses are proposed regarding the potential discrepancies.
The study underscores a significant gap in empirical data from tropical regions.

Conclusions:

Urgent need for increased empirical research on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in tropical ecosystems.
Current understanding may be biased by a temperate-zone focus.
Further investigation is required to accurately model tropical ecosystem responses.