Search results for "Ecosystem function"

Evenness, biodiversity, and ecosystem function of intertidal communities along the Italian coasts: Experimental short-term response to ambient and ex…

2023

Biodiversity can promote ecosystem functioning in both terrestrial and marine environments, emphasizing the neces- sity ofbiodiversity conservation in order to preserve critical ecosystem functions and associated services. However, the role of biodiversity in buffering ecosystem functioning under extreme events caused by climate change remains a major scientific issue, especially for intertidal systems experiencing stressors from both terrestrial and marine drivers. We performed a regional-scale field experiment along the Italian coast to investigate the response of unmanipulated intertidal communities (by using a natural biodiversity gradient) to low tide aerial exposure to both ambient an…

Deciphering biotic interactions and their role in soil microbial community assembly

2021

National audience; Soil microbial communities play key roles in ecosystem functioning. Yet, little is known aboutthe importance of microbe-microbe interactions in soil microbial community assembly andfunctions. To address this knowledge gap, the objective of my thesis is to assess the role ofinteractions between micro-organisms in soil microbial communities. For this purpose, we willmanipulate the interactions between microorganisms within complex soil microbialcommunities by (i) removing different members of the soil community, (ii) adding microbialtaxa to the soil community and (iii) increasing the physical distance between members of thesoil community. How shifts in microbial interaction…

Loss in microbial diversity affects nitrogen cycling in soil

2013

International audience; Microbial communities have a central role in ecosystem processes by driving the Earth's biogeochemical cycles. However, the importance of microbial diversity for ecosystem functioning is still debated. Here, we experimentally manipulated the soil microbial community using a dilution approach to analyze the functional consequences of diversity loss. A trait-centered approach was embraced using the denitrifiers as model guild due to their role in nitrogen cycling, a major ecosystem service. How various diversity metrics related to richness, eveness and phylogenetic diversity of the soil denitrifier community were affected by the removal experiment was assessed by 454 s…

Promenade among terrestrial denitrifiers: from genetics to ecology

2011

Diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Glomeromycota) in european soils analysed by pyrosequencing

2012

Arbuscular mycorrhiza provides essential ecosystem functions in natural and humandominated ecosystems. Generally human activities like agriculture seem to have a negative effect on diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), and thus on ecosystem functioning. New sequencing technologies now allow to assess AMF diversity on a much larger scale than previously. In the context of the European project EcoFINDERS, five Long-Term Observatories across Europe with different soil management have been studied. The diversity of AMF in these soils is analyzed by pyrosequencing, using the ITS (rDNA Internal Transcribed Spacers) as marker, which were recently determined as the standard barcoding gen…

An integrated approach to cope with anthropogenic drivers of ecosystem change: the thermal vent case study

2022

Microorganisms and Biotic Interactions

2014

SPE IPM; Most ecosystems are populated by a large number of diversified microorganisms, which interact with one another and form complex interaction networks. In addition, some of these microorganisms may colonize the surface or internal parts of plants and animals, thereby providing an additional level of interaction complexity. These microbial relations range from intraspecific to interspecific interactions, and from simple short-term interactions to intricate long-term ones. They have played a key role in the formation of plant and animal kingdoms, often resulting in coevolution; they control the size, activity level, and diversity patterns of microbial communities. Therefore, they modul…

Building on 150 Years of Knowledge : The Freshwater Isopod Asellus aquaticus as an Integrative Eco-Evolutionary Model System

2021

Interactions between organisms and their environments are central to how biological diversity arises and how natural populations and ecosystems respond to environmental change. These interactions involve processes by which phenotypes are affected by or respond to external conditions (e.g., via phenotypic plasticity or natural selection) as well as processes by which organisms reciprocally interact with the environment (e.g., via eco-evolutionary feedbacks). Organism-environment interactions can be highly dynamic and operate on different hierarchical levels, from genes and phenotypes to populations, communities, and ecosystems. Therefore, the study of organism-environment interactions requir…

Functional structure of European forest beetle communities is enhanced by rare species

2022

Biodiverse communities have been shown to sustain high levels of multifunctionality and thus a loss of species likely negatively impacts ecosystem functions. For most taxa, however, roles of individual species are poorly known. Rare species, often most likely to go extinct, may have unique traits and functional roles. Alternatively, rare species may be functionally redundant, such that their loss would not disrupt ecosystem functions. We quantified the functional role of rare species by using captures of wood-living (saproxylic) beetle species, combined with recent databases of morphological and ecological traits, from three regions in central and northern Europe. Using a rarity index based…

Global monitoring of soil animal communities using a common methodology.

2022

Here we introduce the Soil BON Foodweb Team, a cross-continental collaborative network that aims to monitor soil animal communities and food webs using consistent methodology at a global scale. Soil animals support vital soil processes via soil structure modification, consumption of dead organic matter, and interactions with microbial and plant communities. Soil animal effects on ecosystem functions have been demonstrated by correlative analyses as well as in laboratory and field experiments, but these studies typically focus on selected animal groups or species at one or few sites with limited variation in environmental conditions. The lack of comprehensive harmonised large-scale soil anim…