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Related Concept Videos

What is Biodiversity?01:19

What is Biodiversity?

Biodiversity describes the variety of living things at multiple organizational levels: genetic, species and ecosystem diversity. Species diversity includes all branches of the evolutionary tree from single-celled prokaryotic organisms, bacteria, and archaea, to the eukaryotic kingdoms: plants; animals; fungi; and protists. To date, there have been about 1.75 million species identified, and new species are discovered every week.
Trophic Efficiency00:46

Trophic Efficiency

Trophic level transfer efficiency (TLTE) is a measure of the total energy transfer from one trophic level to the next. Due to extensive energy loss as metabolic heat, an average of only 10% of the original energy obtained is passed on to the next level. This pattern of energy loss severely limits the possible number of trophic levels in a food chain.
Trophic Levels01:35

Trophic Levels

All organisms in an ecosystem occupy a trophic level in the food chain. The lowest level consists of primary producers, which synthesize their food from either solar or chemical energy. Each subsequent level obtains energy from the levels below. Detritivores can occupy any of the levels above primary producers.
Ecological Disturbance02:26

Ecological Disturbance

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.Ecological disturbances can be caused by an event as small as the trampling of underbrush to an incident as wide-ranging as a forest...
Ecological Niches02:02

Ecological Niches

All organisms have a position within an ecosystem. The complete set of living and nonliving factors—including food resources, climate, and terrain—that define the position of a given organism are collectively referred to as the organism’s ecological niche.Multiple species cannot occupy the exact same niche within their habitat. If the niches of two or more species overlap to a large extent, the competitive exclusion principle dictates that one species will outcompete the other, forcing it to...
What is an Ecosystem?01:17

What is an Ecosystem?

Overview

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 3, 2026

JenaTron - An Experimental Approach to Study the Effects of Plant History and Soil History on Grassland Ecosystem Functioning
09:23

JenaTron - An Experimental Approach to Study the Effects of Plant History and Soil History on Grassland Ecosystem Functioning

Published on: March 21, 2025

Food web complexity underlies biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning.

Andrew D Barnes1, Ulrich Brose2,3, Nico Eisenhauer2,4

  • 1Te Aka Mātuatua - School of Science, The University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. andrew.barnes@waikato.ac.nz.

Nature
|July 1, 2026
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Biodiversity boosts ecosystem functions across all trophic levels. Conserving food web complexity is crucial for maintaining ecosystem services and stability.

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Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Ecosystem Science
  • Biodiversity Research

Background:

  • Biodiversity loss raises concerns about ecosystem functions and services.
  • The effect of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning is well-established within single trophic levels, but less understood in complex, multi-trophic food webs.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how food web complexity influences the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.
  • To quantify energy fluxes as proxies for primary consumption and predation in diverse ecosystems.

Main Methods:

  • Analyzed 318 highly resolved, complex food webs from marine, lake, stream, and soil ecosystems.
  • Quantified energy fluxes to measure ecosystem functions, specifically primary consumption and predation.
  • Assessed the impact of taxon richness, vertical diversity, and trophic complementarity on ecosystem functioning.

Main Results:

  • Ecosystem functioning consistently increased with taxon richness across all trophic levels and ecosystems.
  • Greater vertical diversity and trophic complementarity in predators were linked to enhanced ecosystem functioning.
  • Predator trophic complementarity significantly increased predation fluxes in all freshwater ecosystems.

Conclusions:

  • Biodiversity enhances ecosystem functioning through increased vertical diversity and trophic complementarity.
  • Trophic downgrading poses a significant threat to critical ecosystem functions and stability.
  • Conserving the trophic complexity of food webs is essential for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem function relationships.