Biodiversity buffers phytoplankton biomass production against nanoparticle pollution through increased facilitation

By assembling phytoplankton communities across a gradient of species richness and exposing them to varying concentrations of copper oxide nanoparticles, we experimentally explored how biodiversity modulates ecosystem functioning under nanoparticle exposure. We found that the positive effect of biodiversity on biomass production was amplified at higher nanoparticle concentrations, allowing diverse communities to maintain biomass despite strong inhibitory effects of nanoparticles on monocultures. This enhanced biodiversity effect was primarily driven by increased complementarity, specifically through more frequent facilitative interactions among species under nanoparticle stress.本研究通过构建沿物种丰富度梯度分布的浮游植物群落（phytoplankton communities），并将其暴露于不同浓度的氧化铜纳米颗粒（copper oxide nanoparticles）中，实验探究了纳米颗粒暴露环境下生物多样性如何调控生态系统功能。研究结果表明，生物多样性对生物量生产的正向效应在更高纳米颗粒浓度下被显著增强，使得多样性群落能够维持生物量水平，尽管纳米颗粒对单种培养体系具有强烈的抑制作用。这一增强的生物多样性效应主要源于物种互补性的提升，具体表现为纳米颗粒胁迫下物种间的促进性互作更为频繁。