Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 27, 2025
14:44
Field Collection and Laboratory Maintenance of Canopy-Forming Giant Kelp to Facilitate Restoration
Published on: June 7, 2024
2.2K
Individual behavior drives ecosystem function and the impacts of harvest
Jacob E Allgeier1, Timothy J Cline1, Timothy E Walsworth2
1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Science Advances
|March 6, 2020
Summary
Individual variation within fish populations significantly impacts ecosystem function, affecting nutrient supply more than previously thought. Management strategies targeting active individuals can drastically reduce nutrient supply, challenging species-focused conservation efforts.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Conservation Biology
- Ecosystem Science
Background:
- Current biodiversity conservation prioritizes species diversity for ecosystem function.
- The role of individual variation within populations on ecosystem-scale function remains understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how individual variation within a fish population influences ecosystem nutrient supply.
- To assess the impact of different management (harvest) strategies on ecosystem function by considering individual traits.
Main Methods:
- Quantified nutrient supply from individual fish and compared it to population averages.
- Modeled the effects of selective harvest regimes (targeting active individuals, body size, or nonselective) on nutrient supply.
Main Results:
- Individual fish nutrient supply deviates from the population average over 80% of the time.
- Accounting for individual variation nearly doubles estimates of ecosystem nutrient supply.
- Harvesting more active individuals reduced ecosystem nutrient supply by up to 69%.
Conclusions:
- Individual variation, particularly movement behavior, is a critical driver of ecosystem function.
- Management strategies should consider individual traits, not just species diversity, for effective ecosystem conservation.
- The study challenges a species-centric view of biodiversity when ecosystem function is the management goal.
Related Concept Videos
01:39Keystone Species
24.0K
Measures of species biodiversity, such as richness (i.e., the number of species present) and evenness (i.e., their relative abundance), describe an ecological community’s structure. Many factors affect community structure, including abiotic factors (e.g., sunlight and nutrients), disturbances (e.g., fire or flood), species interactions (e.g., predation or competition), and chance events (e.g., foreign species invasion). Certain species—such as keystone species—also play a...
24.0K
00:48Optimal Foraging
13.2K
How animals obtain and eat their food is called foraging behavior. Foraging can include searching for plants and hunting for prey and depends on the species and environment.
13.2K
02:26Ecological Disturbance
20.5K
An ecological disturbance is a temporary disruption in the environment resulting from abiotic, biotic, or anthropogenic factors, causing a pronounced change in an ecosystem. The impact of an ecological disturbance, which can depend on its intensity, frequency, and spatial distribution, plays a significant role in shaping the species diversity within the ecosystem.
20.5K
00:54What is Behavior?
9.9K
Behaviors are actions that an organism engages in—they can be related to finding food, reproducing, defending against threats, and many other possible actions. Behaviors include activities related to the environment around the animal—such as migration—as well as social interactions within a species or population. Many behaviors involve motor output—that is, muscle movements—while others involve less visible actions, such as learning.
9.9K
02:39Predator-Prey Interactions
20.9K
Predators consume prey for energy. Predators that acquire prey and prey that avoid predation both increase their chances of survival and reproduction (i.e., fitness). Routine predator-prey interactions elicit mutual adaptations that improve predator offenses, such as claws, teeth, and speed, as well as prey defenses, including crypsis, aposematism, and mimicry. Thus, predator-prey interactions resemble an evolutionary arms race.
20.9K
01:43Sustainable Development
14.6K
As the human population continues to grow and use resources, we must be mindful of our planet’s natural limits. Sustainable development provides a pathway to maintain and improve human life now while also ensuring that future generations will have the resources that they need. The long-term success of sustainability efforts rests on understanding the interplay between human actions and ecological systems.
14.6K