The role of diversity, body size and climate in dung removal: A correlative and experimental approach
Please always quote using this URN: urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-293907
- The mechanisms by which climatic changes influence ecosystem functions, that is, by a direct climatic control of ecosystem processes or by modifying richness and trait compositions of species communities, remain unresolved. This study is a contribution to this discourse by elucidating the linkages between climate, land use, biodiversity, body size and ecosystem functions. We disentangled direct climatic from biodiversity‐mediated effects by using dung removal by dung beetles as a model system and by combining correlative field data andThe mechanisms by which climatic changes influence ecosystem functions, that is, by a direct climatic control of ecosystem processes or by modifying richness and trait compositions of species communities, remain unresolved. This study is a contribution to this discourse by elucidating the linkages between climate, land use, biodiversity, body size and ecosystem functions. We disentangled direct climatic from biodiversity‐mediated effects by using dung removal by dung beetles as a model system and by combining correlative field data and exclosure experiments along an extensive elevational gradient on Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Dung removal declined with increasing elevation, being associated with a strong reduction in the richness and body size traits of dung beetle communities. Climate influenced dung removal rates by modifying biodiversity rather than by direct effects. The biodiversity–ecosystem effect was driven by a change in the mean body size of dung beetles. Dung removal rates were strongly reduced when large dung beetles were experimentally excluded. This study underscores that climate influences ecosystem functions mainly by modifying biodiversity and underpins the important role of body size for dung removal.…
Author: | Friederike Gebert, Ingolf Steffan‐Dewenter, Patrick Kronbach, Marcell K. Peters |
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URN: | urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-293907 |
Document Type: | Journal article |
Faculties: | Fakultät für Biologie / Theodor-Boveri-Institut für Biowissenschaften |
Language: | English |
Parent Title (English): | Journal of Animal Ecology |
Year of Completion: | 2022 |
Volume: | 91 |
Issue: | 11 |
First Page: | 2181 |
Last Page: | 2191 |
Source: | Journal of Animal Ecology 2022, 91(11):2181-2191. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13798 |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13798 |
Dewey Decimal Classification: | 5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 57 Biowissenschaften; Biologie / 570 Biowissenschaften; Biologie |
Tag: | Scarabaeidae; altitudinal gradients; biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationship; body size; diversity gradients; ecosystem services; land use; temperature |
Release Date: | 2023/06/28 |
Licence (German): | CC BY: Creative-Commons-Lizenz: Namensnennung 4.0 International |