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Niche Differences In Biodiversity: Species' Differences Are Responsible For Their Coexistence
ScienceDaily (Aug. 22, 2009) — Scientists at UC Santa Barbara have found strong evidence that niche differences are critical to biodiversity. Their findings are published online in this week's issue of the journal Nature.
See also:
Plants & Animals
* Nature
* Ecology Research
* New Species
Earth & Climate
* Ecology
* Biodiversity
* Exotic Species
Reference
* Competitive exclusion in ecology
* Ecological niche
* Speciation
* Ecological succession
"Ecologists have long assumed that species differences in how they use the environment are key to explaining the large number of species we see all around us, but the importance of such niches have never been field tested," said first author Jonathan M. Levine, associate professor in UCSB's Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology.
Levine and his co-author Janneke HilleRisLambers, a former postdoctoral fellow at UCSB, who is now an assistant professor at the University of Washington, did field testing of small plants. These plants were found in northern Santa Barbara County on rocky outcrops, where diversity is very high. They used a combination of mathematical techniques, as well as experimental approaches, to remove niche differences from these experimental communities.
"Our work is important because it resolves a century-old biodiversity puzzle," said Levine. "Why doesn't the single best competitor exclude all others in the community?"
Ecological theory has posed two possible answers to the coexistence conundrum. "The classic argument is that niche differences allow species to divide up the environment, much like different products cater to consumers of different tastes or incomes," he said. "The alternative is that competitors are so evenly matched that no single species can win –– as occurs when different airlines offer the same route for the same price."
Conflict between these hypotheses has formed the single greatest controversy in ecology over the last decade. The new study provides the first strong evidence that species' differences are responsible for their coexistence.
Although the study's primary importance is in advancing pure ecological science, understanding how biodiversity works is critical. It is in those communities in which niche differences maintain diversity that species loss has the greatest impact on plant production, and other ecosystem services to mankind –– from economic to aesthetic.
Journal reference:
1. Jonathan M. Levine & Janneke HilleRisLambers. The importance of niches for the maintenance of species diversity. Nature, 2009; DOI: 10.1038/nature08251
Adapted from materials provided by University of California - Santa Barbara.
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Jonathan Levine conducting his biodiversity research. (Credit: George Foulsham, Office of Public Affairs, UCSB)
Related Stories
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Key Insights Into How New Species Emerge (Feb. 6, 2009) — Biologists are reporting the ongoing emergence of a new species of fruit fly -- and the sequential development of a new species of wasp -- in the journal ... > read more
New Study Explores Patterns In Species Diversity And Genetic Diversity (July 28, 2005) — A new study by Mark Vellend in the August 2005 issue of the American Naturalist is the first to provide a theoretical model showing that the two central measures of biodiversity -- the number of ... > read more
Virtual Duck Bills Demonstrate Species Coexistence (Mar. 9, 2007) — How do species coexist rather than out-compete? The classical explanation is that each species has evolved morphological traits that allow it to exploit different resources more efficiently, but ... > read more
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Science News
Share Blog Cite
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Niche Differences In Biodiversity: Species' Differences Are Responsible For Their Coexistence
ScienceDaily (Aug. 22, 2009) — Scientists at UC Santa Barbara have found strong evidence that niche differences are critical to biodiversity. Their findings are published online in this week's issue of the journal Nature.
See also:
Plants & Animals
* Nature
* Ecology Research
* New Species
Earth & Climate
* Ecology
* Biodiversity
* Exotic Species
Reference
* Competitive exclusion in ecology
* Ecological niche
* Speciation
* Ecological succession
"Ecologists have long assumed that species differences in how they use the environment are key to explaining the large number of species we see all around us, but the importance of such niches have never been field tested," said first author Jonathan M. Levine, associate professor in UCSB's Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology.
Levine and his co-author Janneke HilleRisLambers, a former postdoctoral fellow at UCSB, who is now an assistant professor at the University of Washington, did field testing of small plants. These plants were found in northern Santa Barbara County on rocky outcrops, where diversity is very high. They used a combination of mathematical techniques, as well as experimental approaches, to remove niche differences from these experimental communities.
"Our work is important because it resolves a century-old biodiversity puzzle," said Levine. "Why doesn't the single best competitor exclude all others in the community?"
Ecological theory has posed two possible answers to the coexistence conundrum. "The classic argument is that niche differences allow species to divide up the environment, much like different products cater to consumers of different tastes or incomes," he said. "The alternative is that competitors are so evenly matched that no single species can win –– as occurs when different airlines offer the same route for the same price."
Conflict between these hypotheses has formed the single greatest controversy in ecology over the last decade. The new study provides the first strong evidence that species' differences are responsible for their coexistence.
Although the study's primary importance is in advancing pure ecological science, understanding how biodiversity works is critical. It is in those communities in which niche differences maintain diversity that species loss has the greatest impact on plant production, and other ecosystem services to mankind –– from economic to aesthetic.
Journal reference:
1. Jonathan M. Levine & Janneke HilleRisLambers. The importance of niches for the maintenance of species diversity. Nature, 2009; DOI: 10.1038/nature08251
Adapted from materials provided by University of California - Santa Barbara.
Email or share this story:
| More
Need to cite this story in your essay, paper, or report? Use one of the following formats:
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enlarge
Jonathan Levine conducting his biodiversity research. (Credit: George Foulsham, Office of Public Affairs, UCSB)
Related Stories
Species Detectives Track Unseen Evolution (July 20, 2007) — New species are evading detection using a foolproof disguise -- their own unchanged appearance. Research suggests that the phenomenon of different animal species not being visually distinct despite ... > read more
Key Insights Into How New Species Emerge (Feb. 6, 2009) — Biologists are reporting the ongoing emergence of a new species of fruit fly -- and the sequential development of a new species of wasp -- in the journal ... > read more
New Study Explores Patterns In Species Diversity And Genetic Diversity (July 28, 2005) — A new study by Mark Vellend in the August 2005 issue of the American Naturalist is the first to provide a theoretical model showing that the two central measures of biodiversity -- the number of ... > read more
Virtual Duck Bills Demonstrate Species Coexistence (Mar. 9, 2007) — How do species coexist rather than out-compete? The classical explanation is that each species has evolved morphological traits that allow it to exploit different resources more efficiently, but ... > read more
Search ScienceDaily
Number of stories in archives: 44,032
Find with keyword(s):
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the latest news stories, reference articles, science videos, images, and books.
Just In:
Lightning's Mirror Image ... Only Much Bigger
Using Light To Teach Magnets New Tricks
Microchip Does 1,000 Chemical Reactions At Once
Naming Evolution's Winners And Losers
Inner 'Fingerprint' For Personal Medical Care
Why Sleep? To Boost Efficiency, Minimize Risk
Ultrathin LEDs: New Class Of Displays
Oxycholesterol: Greatest Heart Disease Risk?
Science Video News
Men Are From Mars
Functional magnetic resonance imaging of men and women under stress showed neuroscientists how their brains differed in response to stressful. ... > full story
* Newly Sequenced Genome Could Shed Light on Human Diseases
* Microbiologists and Astrobiologists Help Kids Discover New Species
* Meteorologists Discover How Monsoon Affects Summer Weather
* more science videos
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* S.Korea seeks 4-year prison term for stem cell fraud
* Encyclopedia of Life grows; clues on ageing, pests
* Satellites put into orbit for Japan and Australia
* Scientists make "sugar bug" drug for bowel disease
* Gene swap experiment makes altering bugs easier
* more science news
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* Netanyahu sees talks with Palestinians in 2 months
* Storm Bill loses steam in North Atlantic
* Fires near Athens recede after 3-day inferno
* Malaysian state to cane woman after Ramadan
* Justice Dept advises pursuing CIA abuses: report
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* U.S. presses sanctions to end N.Korea atomic plans
* Singapore shoots down "rumor" of APEC attack plot
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