Read Why Diversity Supports Ecosystem Function
Biodiversity supports ecosystem functioning, stability and productivity; species can play unequal roles.
Living-system questions are solved by matching a structure or organism to its function, process and stated condition.
Use the rivet-popper analogy
Species are rivets in an ecosystem imagined as an airplane. Losing species can weaken function; loss of a keystone species may have a disproportionate impact, like losing a critical rivet.
Connect diversity and stability
Greater diversity can support productivity and resistance to disturbance or invasion. As diversity falls, ecosystem resilience and resistance tend to decline while variation in productivity can increase. Edward Wilson popularised biodiversity; Robert May estimated global diversity; Lindeman described energy transfer; Tilman studied diversity and productivity.
OlympIQ exam lens
- ✓Rivet → species; airplane → ecosystem.
- ✓Keystone species have disproportionate effects.
- ✓Biodiversity loss can raise productivity variability.
- ✓Match each ecologist to the contribution asked.
Not all species have identical ecological roles; check for a keystone-species clue.
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Practise 3 linked questions