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Ecology

Paradise sustained

Nature volume 433, pages 370–371 (2005)Cite this article

Biodiversity stabilizes ecosystem functioning in small-scale, short-term experiments, but do such findings scale up to the larger world? A global study of fossil reefs from the past 500 million years suggests they do.

A watershed ecosystem that produces a steady volume of water may be more valuable than one that unpredictably alternates between flood and drought. A coastal ecosystem that provides a regular but modest supply of fish serves a community better than one that booms then busts. In most cases, then, the absolute magnitudes of ecosystem functions — such as the production of potable water and nutritious food — may matter little if they are unsustainable.

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Figure 1: Reef-builders: diversity and stability.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, 1200 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, 10027, New York, USA

    Shahid Naeem & Andrew C. Baker

  2. Marine Program, Wildlife Conservation Society, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, 10460, New York, USA

    Shahid Naeem & Andrew C. Baker

Authors
  1. Shahid Naeem
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  2. Andrew C. Baker
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Naeem, S., Baker, A. Paradise sustained. Nature 433, 370–371 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/433370a

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