Abstract
An Inordinate Fondness of Rarity
Highlights
Humans appear to be the cause of the impending sixth mass extinction of life on Earth. As awareness of this impending biodiversity crisis has grown, a burgeoning literature examining the relationship between biodiversity and the functions of ecosystems has emerged, typically showing a positive relationship
The value of biodiversity, it is surmised, is that the functioning of entire ecosystems would collapse if the impending biodiversity crisis is not curtailed
Selected PLOS Biology research articles are accompanied by a synopsis written for a general audience to provide non-experts with insight into the significance of the published work
Summary
A rather universal pattern in any given community, be it beetles, trees, or bacteria, is that a few species are quite common, but the majority are rare, many exceptionally so. This assumption that rare species are redundant, is loaded with ambiguity, and in reality, very little is known about how common and rare species differ (or do not differ) in their functional traits and their possible roles in the ecosystem.
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