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Symposium
16: Incorporating trophic diversity into the biodiversity-ecosystem functioning
debate: Lessons from aquatic ecosystems
Endorsed
by the ESA Aquatic Ecology Section
Thursday,
August 11, 8 AM - 11:30 AM, Meeting Room 517a, Level 5, Palais
des congrès de Montréal
Organizers:
Peter McIntyre (pbm3@cornell.edu),
Kristin France, J. Emmett Duffy, Alexander Flecker
Description: The
effects of worldwide losses of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning are poorly
understood, particularly in complex food webs. There is growing evidence that
species losses are often non-random with respect to trophic roles, and that
trophic interactions strongly affect biodiversity-ecosystem functioning
relationships. This symposium will highlight new work on the implications of
eroding trophic diversity for the functioning of freshwater and marine
ecosystems. Trophic diversity is particularly relevant in aquatic ecosystems
because the impacts of fisheries, eutrophication, and other threats are often
mediated through food webs. Presentations will address: (1) the importance of
trophic diversity in natural and experimental ecosystems; (2) the influence of
spatial and temporal scale of observations; (3) whether alternative measures of
ecosystem functioning respond similarly to trophic diversity; and (4) the
development of standardized metrics of ecosystem functioning to facilitate
comparisons among systems. Special attention will be paid to species-rich
natural ecosystems, synthesis of observational and experimental data, and
comparisons between terrestrial and aquatic systems.
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