School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Aquatic Chemical Ecology Center, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Nat Ecol Evol. 2019 Feb;3(2):178-182. doi: 10.1038/s41559-018-0752-7. Epub 2019 Jan 7.
Coral reefs are declining dramatically and losing species richness, but the impact of declining biodiversity on coral well-being remains inadequately understood. Here, we demonstrate that lower coral species richness alone can suppress the growth and survivorship of multiple species of corals (Porites cylindrica, Pocillopora damicornis and Acropora millepora) under field conditions on a degraded, macroalgae-dominated reef. Our findings highlight the positive role of biodiversity in the function of coral reefs, and suggest that the loss of coral species richness may trigger negative feedback that causes further ecosystem decline.
珊瑚礁正在急剧减少，物种丰富度也在下降，但生物多样性减少对珊瑚健康的影响仍未得到充分理解。在这里，我们证明了在退化的、以大型藻类为主的珊瑚礁上，即使只是珊瑚物种丰富度的降低，也会对多种珊瑚（柱状孔珊瑚、鹿角珊瑚和蔷薇珊瑚）的生长和存活率产生抑制作用。我们的研究结果强调了生物多样性在珊瑚礁功能中的积极作用，并表明珊瑚物种丰富度的丧失可能引发负面反馈，导致进一步的生态系统退化。
