Species identity drives ecosystem function in a subsidy-dependent coastal ecosystem

An invasive foundation species enhances multifunctionality in a coastal ecosystem

Division of Marine Science and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Beaufort, NC 28516; Department of Biology andMarine Biology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, NC 28403; Marine Ecology Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch 8041, New Zealand; and Oceans Institute and School of Plant Biology, Unive...

Climate change drives a shift in peatland ecosystem plant community: implications for ecosystem function and stability.

The composition of a peatland plant community has considerable effect on a range of ecosystem functions. Peatland plant community structure is predicted to change under future climate change, making the quantification of the direction and magnitude of this change a research priority. We subjected intact, replicated vegetated poor fen peat monoliths to elevated temperatures, increased atmospheri...

Climate warming drives large-scale changes in ecosystem function.

The Barents Sea is the continental shelf sea to the north of Scandinavia and Northwest Russia, and it supports some of the richest fisheries in Europe. Until recently, the northern Barents Sea was dominated by small-sized, slow-growing fish species with specialized diets, mostly living in close association with the sea floor. Concomitant with rising sea temperatures and retreating sea ice, thes...

Biodiversity , Species Composition and Ecosystem Function

Human Activity, not Ecosystem Characters, Drives Potential Species Invasions

0196 From the Asian tiger mosquito in the American South, to the Eurasian zebra mussel in the Great Lakes, to European quackgrass throughout the United States, invasions of non-native species can disrupt ecosystems, cause havoc with local economies, and even threaten health. A new study shows that, at least for freshwater fishes, the major driver of successful invasion is human development, not...