@article{7b9338e1614c49cb9fbe124610998993,
title = "The role of biodiversity in the functioning of freshwater and marine benthic ecosystems",
abstract = "Empirical studies investigating the role of species diversity in sustaining ecosystem processes have focused primarily on terrestrial plant and soil communities. Eighteen representative studies drawn from post-1999 literature specifically examined how changes in biodiversity affect benthic ecosystem processes. Results from these small-scale, low-diversity manipulative studies indicate that the effects of changes in biodiversity (mostly synonymous with local species richness) are highly variable over space and time and frequently depend on specific biological traits or functional roles of individual species. Future studies of freshwater and marine ecosystems will require the development of new experimental designs at larger spatial and temporal scales. Furthermore, to successfully integrate field and laboratory studies, the derivation of realistic models and appropriate experiments will require approaches different from those already used in terrestrial systems.",
author = "Covich, {Alan P.} and Austen, {Melanie C.} and Felix B{\"a}rlocher and Eric Chauvet and Cardinale, {Bradley J.} and Biles, {Catherine L.} and Pablo Inchausti and Olivier Dangles and Martin Solan and Gessner, {Mark O.} and Bernhard Statzner and Brian Moss",
note = "Funding Information: We appreciate the many efforts of the organizing committee of the “Aquatic Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning” conference in Ascona, Switzerland (April 2002), to bring us together. Several colleagues contributed to the discussions and helped with comments on earlier drafts. Reviews by Paul Giller, David Raffaelli, Lennart Persson, Margaret Palmer, Bj{\"o}rn Malmqvist, and Harald Asmus clarified several points. Three anonymous reviewers provided constructive comments. Support from the European Science Foundation (LINKECOL/61), the US National Science Foundation (DEB 0217338 to Alan Covich and Peter Morin), DIVERSITAS, the Swiss National Science Foundation (3101-067069.01/1), and EAWAG (Eidgen{\"o}ssische Anstalt f{\"u}r Wasserversor-gung, Abwasserreinigung und Gew{\"a}sserschutz) is gratefully acknowledged.",
year = "2004",
month = aug,
doi = "10.1641/0006-3568(2004)054[0767:TROBIT]2.0.CO;2",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "54",
pages = "767--775",
journal = "BioScience",
issn = "0006-3568",
publisher = "American Institute of Biological Sciences",
number = "8",
}