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Species’ traits predict the effects of disturbance and productivity on diversity
Author(s) -
Haddad Nick M.,
Holyoak Marcel,
Mata Tawny M.,
Davies Kendi F.,
Melbourne Brett A.,
Preston Kim
Publication year - 2008
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 - 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2007.01149.x
Subject(s) - disturbance (geology) , ecology , ecosystem , productivity , intermediate disturbance hypothesis , competition (biology) , biology , species diversity , biodiversity , diversity (politics) , economics , paleontology , sociology , anthropology , macroeconomics
Disturbance is an important factor influencing diversity patterns. Ecological theory predicts that diversity peaks at intermediate levels of disturbance, but this pattern is not present in a majority of empirical tests and can be influenced by the level of ecosystem productivity. We experimentally tested the effects of disturbance on diversity and show that species’ autecological traits and community relations predicted species loss. We found that – alone or in concert – increasing disturbance intensity or frequency, or decreasing productivity, reduced diversity. Our species did not exhibit a clear competition‐colonization trade‐off, and intrinsic growth rate was a more important predictor of response to disturbance and productivity than measures of competitive ability. Furthermore, competitive ability was more important in predicting responses when, in addition to killing individuals, disturbance returned nutrients to the ecosystem. Our results demonstrate that species’ traits can help resolve conflicting patterns in the response of diversity to disturbance and productivity.