Biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships in long-term time series and palaeoecological records: deep sea as a test bed

The link between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (BEF) over long temporal scales is poorly understood. Here, we investigate biological monitoring and palaeoecological records on decadal, centennial and millennial time scales from a BEF framework, by using deep-sea, soft-sediment environments as a test bed. Results generally show positive BEF relationships, in agreement with BEF studies based on present-day spatial analyses and short-term manipulative experiments. However, the deep-sea BEF relationship is much noisier across longer time scales compared with modern observational studies. We also demonstrate with palaeoecological time-series data that a larger species pool does not enhance ecosystem stability through time, whereas abundance, as an indicator of higher ecosystem functioning, may enhance ecosystem stability. These results suggest that BEF relationships are potentially timescale-dependent. Environmental impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning may be much stron...

长期时间尺度下，生物多样性与生态系统功能（Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning，BEF）之间的关联仍未被充分阐明。本研究基于BEF框架，以深海软沉积环境作为实验平台，对年代际、百年乃至千年时间尺度下的生物监测记录与古生态记录展开研究。研究结果总体呈现出正向的BEF关联，这与基于现代空间分析与短期操控实验的BEF相关研究结论相一致。然而，相较于现代观测研究，深海生态系统的BEF关联在更长时间尺度下的噪声水平显著更高。此外，本研究通过古生态时间序列数据证实：随时间推移，更大的物种库并不会提升生态系统稳定性；而作为更高生态系统功能的指示指标，种群丰度反而能够增强生态系统稳定性。上述研究结果表明，BEF关联可能存在时间尺度依赖性。环境变化对生物多样性与生态系统功能的影响或许远比此前认知的更为强...