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Biodiversity-productivity relations: an experimental evaluation of mechanisms
S J Hall1, S A Gray1, Z L Hammett1
1School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University of South Australia, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001, Australia e-mail: stephen.hall@flinders.edu.au Fax: +61-8-82013015, , , , , , AU.
Abstract:
To examine the mechanisms underlying productivity-diversity relationships, we manipulated nutrient levels in replicate small-scale artificial habitat units in the marine subtidal zone and followed the process of community assembly. In contrast to most enrichment studies, algal diversity increased in enriched habitats relative to controls along with biomass - a result that may be explained by the low nutrient status of the region. Both the total number of faunal species and the total number of individuals were also significantly greater in enriched habitats, but the relationship between algal resources and faunal diversity did not support the resource heterogeneity hypothesis.
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