Patterns of Diversity in Island Soil Fauna: Detecting Functional Redundancy

Abstract

Distinguishing between functional redundancy and complexity is critical to developing an understanding of the consequences of species loss in ecosystems. An important case is species-rich communities closely associated with ecosystem function. It is unclear whether high species diversity reflects an increased number of functional groups or simply a higher degree of redundancy. Soil organisms represent one example of a community that affects ecosystem processes and is highly diverse. In these terrestrial detritivore-decomposer systems, the breakdown of litter and the subsequent mineralization of nutrients are carried out by a community that can approach 1000 species per m2 in some temperate woodland soils (Anderson 1978). This chapter explores a method to distinguish between functional complexity and redundancy in soil organisms using comparisons of biogeographic patterns of species diversity in communities of island soil fauna.