Svensson J Robin, Lindegarth Mats, Siccha Michael, Lenz Mark, Molis Markus, Wahl Martin, Pavia Henrik
Department of Marine Ecology, Göteborg University, Tjärnö Marine Biological Laboratory, 452 96 Strömstad, Sweden.
Ecology. 2007 Apr;88(4):830-8. doi: 10.1890/06-0976.
Development of a mechanistic understanding and predictions of patterns of biodiversity is a central theme in ecology. One of the most influential theories, the intermediate disturbance hypothesis (IDH), predicts maximum diversity at intermediate levels of disturbance frequency. The dynamic equilibrium model (DEM), an extension of the IDH, predicts that the level of productivity determines at what frequency of disturbance maximum diversity occurs. To test, and contrast, the predictions of these two models, a field experiment on marine hard-substratum assemblages was conducted with seven levels of disturbance frequency and three levels of nutrient availability. Consistent with the IDH, maximum diversity, measured as species richness, was observed at an intermediate frequency of disturbance. Despite documented effects on productivity, the relationship between disturbance and diversity was not altered by the nutrient treatments. Thus, in this system the DEM did not improve the understanding of patterns of diversity compared to the IDH. Furthermore, it is suggested that careful consideration of measurements and practical definitions of productivity in natural assemblages is necessary for a rigorous test of the DEM.
建立对生物多样性模式的机制理解并进行预测是生态学的核心主题。最具影响力的理论之一，即中度干扰假说（IDH），预测在中等干扰频率水平下具有最大多样性。动态平衡模型（DEM）是IDH的扩展，它预测生产力水平决定了在何种干扰频率下会出现最大多样性。为了检验和对比这两个模型的预测，针对海洋硬质基质群落进行了一项野外实验，设置了七个干扰频率水平和三个养分可利用性水平。与IDH一致，以物种丰富度衡量的最大多样性在中等干扰频率下被观察到。尽管有记录表明养分处理对生产力有影响，但干扰与多样性之间的关系并未因养分处理而改变。因此，在这个系统中，与IDH相比，DEM并没有增进对多样性模式的理解。此外，有人提出，对于DEM的严格检验而言，仔细考虑自然群落中生产力的测量方法和实际定义是必要的。
