Premium
Functional redundancy in heterogeneous environments: implications for conservation
Author(s) -
Wellnitz Todd,
Poff N. LeRoy
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
ecology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.852
H-Index - 265
eISSN - 1461-0248
pISSN - 1461-023X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1461-0248.2001.00221.x
Subject(s) - functional diversity , redundancy (engineering) , ecology , context (archaeology) , functional ecology , biology , set (abstract data type) , environmental resource management , ecosystem , computer science , environmental science , paleontology , programming language , operating system
It has been argued that one of the best ways to conserve biological diversity is to maintain the integrity of functional processes within communities, and this can be accomplished by assessing how much ecological redundancy exists in communities. Evidence suggests, however, that the functional roles species play are subject to the influences of local environmental conditions. Species may appear to perform the same function (i.e. be redundant) under a restricted set of conditions, yet their functional roles may vary in naturally heterogeneous environments. Incorporating the environmental context into ecological experiments would provide a critical perspective for examining functional redundancy among species.