Nutrient enrichment alters the consequences of species loss

Abstract

Summary Loss of biodiversity and nutrient enrichment are two of the most pervasive drivers of change in ecosystems globally. However, little is known about how these disturbances interact to affect ecosystem functioning. We established a field experiment to test for effects of loss of consumer species on algal assemblages (richness and assemblage structure) and ecosystem functioning (ecosystem productivity and algal biomass accumulation) on rocky shores. We manipulated the presence of three common molluscan grazer species in newly created rock pools over 13 months. Our grazer manipulation was based on a subtractive experimental design, and we also manipulated nutrient concentrations to evaluate explicitly how resource availability affected the consequences of species loss. We found that the effects of loss of grazer species on algal assemblages and their functioning depended strongly on both the identity of the grazer species lost and of those remaining in the community. Moreover, the effects of loss of species depended on nutrient availability, making it extremely difficult to predict the effects of species loss generally without detailed knowledge of a system. Our results demonstrate clearly that the effects of grazer species loss on primary producers and ecosystem functioning may not be generalisable based on grazer functional roles or traits. Synthesis. Our findings highlight the need to include key physical drivers, such as nutrient availability, explicitly into biodiversity–ecosystem functioning models in order to move towards a predictive framework that incorporates the effects of both environmental heterogeneity and anthropogenic stressors.