A study of biodiversity loss in microbial communities subjected to experimental warming finds that as temperatures rise, communities require increasing biodiversity to maintain ecosystem function, because the likelihood that remaining species will tolerate warming declines rapidly with decreasing biodiversity; the results suggest that warming may exacerbate the effects of biodiversity loss on ecosystems, according to the authors.
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Article #18-05518: "Changes in temperature alter the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning," by Francisca C. García, Elvire Bestion, Ruth Warfield, and Gabriel Yvon-Durocher.
MEDIA CONTACT: Francisca C. García, Environmental and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, UNITED KINGDOM; e-mail: f.garcia-garcia@exeter.ac.uk
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences