Consumer biodiversity increases organic nutrient availability across aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Environmental Science
• Biodiversity Research

Background:

• Human land-use intensification poses a significant threat to arthropod biodiversity in both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.
• Insects and spiders are vital for nutrient cycling, synthesizing essential compounds like polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs).
• The quantitative relationship between arthropod biodiversity and ecosystem nutrient content remains underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the links between insect and spider biodiversity and their associated biomass and PUFA-mass.
• To compare these relationships across diverse land-use types in both stream and terrestrial environments.

Main Methods:

• Assessed insect and spider richness, biomass, and PUFA-mass across nine distinct land-use gradients.
• Compared findings between aquatic (stream) and terrestrial ecosystems.

Main Results:

• Biodiversity positively correlated with both biomass and PUFA-mass across all studied ecosystems.
• Terrestrial systems in human-dominated areas exhibited lower biomass and PUFA-mass compared to more natural areas, irrespective of richness levels.
• Aquatic ecosystems consistently demonstrated higher PUFA-mass than terrestrial ecosystems.

Conclusions:

• Conserving arthropod biodiversity is essential for maintaining ecosystem functions and nutrient provisioning.
• Aquatic biodiversity offers unique and substantial benefits in terms of nutrient content (PUFA-mass).
• Land-use management should consider impacts on both biodiversity and nutrient cycling.