| Autor: |
Yang JW; Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan., Wu W; Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.; Division of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong., Chung CC; Institute of Marine Environment and Ecology and Center of Excellence for the Oceans, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan., Chiang KP; Institute of Marine Environment and Ecology and Center of Excellence for the Oceans, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan., Gong GC; Institute of Marine Environment and Ecology and Center of Excellence for the Oceans, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan., Hsieh CH; Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. chsieh@ntu.edu.tw.; Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. chsieh@ntu.edu.tw.; Research Center for Environmental Changes, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan. chsieh@ntu.edu.tw.; National Center for Theoretical Sciences, Taipei, Taiwan. chsieh@ntu.edu.tw. |
| Abstrakt: |
The importance of biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning across trophic levels, especially via predatory-prey interactions, is receiving increased recognition. However, this topic has rarely been explored for marine microbes, even though microbial biodiversity contributes significantly to marine ecosystem function and energy flows. Here we examined diversity and biomass of bacteria (prey) and nanoflagellates (predators), as well as their effects on trophic transfer efficiency in the East China Sea. Specifically, we investigated: (i) predator diversity effects on prey biomass and trophic transfer efficiency (using the biomass ratio of predator/prey as a proxy), (ii) prey diversity effects on predator biomass and trophic transfer efficiency, and (iii) the relationship between predator and prey diversity. We found higher prey diversity enhanced both diversity and biomass of predators, as well as trophic transfer efficiency, which may arise from more balanced diet and/or enhanced niche complementarity owing to higher prey diversity. By contrast, no clear effect was detected for predator diversity on prey biomass and transfer efficiency. Notably, we found prey diversity effects on predator-prey interactions; whereas, we found no significant diversity effect on biomass within the same trophic level. Our findings highlight the importance of considering multi-trophic biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning in natural ecosystems. |
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