Skip to main content
Publications | Persons | Institutes | Projects
[ report an error in this record ]basket (0): add | show Print this page

Stressor richness intensifies productivity loss but mitigates biodiversity loss
Holmes, M.; Spaak, J.W.; De Laender, F. (2021). Stressor richness intensifies productivity loss but mitigates biodiversity loss. Ecol. Evol. 11(21): 14977-14987. https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8182
In: Ecology and Evolution. John Wiley & Sons: Chichester. ISSN 2045-7758; e-ISSN 2045-7758, more
Peer reviewed article  

Available in  Authors 

Author keywords
    community ecology; ecosystems; multiple stressors; theoretical ecology; traits

Authors  Top 
  • Holmes, M.
  • Spaak, J.W., more
  • De Laender, F., more

Abstract
    Ecosystems are subject to a multitude of anthropogenic environmental changes. Experimental research in the field of multiple stressors has typically involved varying the number of stressors, here termed stressor richness, but without controlling for total stressor intensity. Mistaking stressor intensity effects for stressor richness effects can misinform management decisions when there is a trade-off between mitigating these two factors. We incorporate multiple stressors into three community models and show that, at a fixed total stressor intensity, increasing stressor richness aggravates joint stressor effects on ecosystem functioning, but reduces effects on species persistence and composition. In addition, stressor richness weakens the positive selection and negative complementarity effects on ecosystem function. We identify the among-species variation of stressor effects on traits as a key determinant of the resulting community-level stressor effects. Taken together, our results unravel the mechanisms linking multiple environmental changes to biodiversity and ecosystem function.

All data in the Integrated Marine Information System (IMIS) is subject to the VLIZ privacy policy Top | Authors