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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Biodiversity And Ecosystem Function: The Consumer Connection, J. Emmett Duffy
Biodiversity And Ecosystem Function: The Consumer Connection, J. Emmett Duffy
VIMS Articles
Proposed links between biodiversity and ecosystem processes have generated intense interest and controversy in recent years. With few exceptions, however, empirical studies have focused on grassland plants and laboratory aquatic microbial systems, whereas there has been little attention to how changing animal diversity may influence ecosystem processes. Meanwhile, a separate research tradition has demonstrated strong top‐down forcing in many systems, but has considered the role of diversity in these processes only tangentially. Integration of these research directions is necessary for more complete understanding in both areas. Several considerations suggest that changing diversity in multi‐level food webs can have important ecosystem …
Relative Strengths Of Competition For Space And Food In A Sessile Filter Feeder, David P. Lohse
Relative Strengths Of Competition For Space And Food In A Sessile Filter Feeder, David P. Lohse
VIMS Articles
Previous workers have demonstrated that sessile filter feeders compete for food and space, but little is known about the relative strengths of these two processes. To determine this, the density and position of barnacles (Balanus improvisus) in a unidirectional current were manipulated to alter the amount of competition for space and food, respectively. Results indicated that competition for space significantly reduced growth, and marginally reduced survivorship. Competition for food was also detected, but only among uncrowded individuals; thus, it appears to be the weaker of the two interactions. However, under crowded conditions, downstream individuals actually grew more than those upstream. …