An international group of researchers has demonstrated that branching complexity of rivers affects regional population stability and persistence in nature, contrary to current theories which suggest the importance of an ecosystem’s size.
An international group of researchers has demonstrated that branching complexity of rivers affects regional population stability and persistence in nature, contrary to current theories which suggest the importance of an ecosystem’s size.
At the turn of the 21st century, ecosystems have become exposed to greater environmental uncertainty with intensive heat waves, out-of-season cold snaps and superstorms. “One urgent task for ecologists is to unravel how regional populations of organisms are maintained during rapid environmental changes,” said Hokkaido University’s Akira Terui who led the study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Larger ecosystems are thought to harbor more stable regional populations since they contain more diverse habitats. However, complex terrain, such as rugged coastlines and river branching, also produces environmental diversity in an ecosystem, for example, by affecting the light environment and microclimate. “Previous studies tended to focus on the size of the ecosystem and pay little attention to its complexity,” Terui explained. “We hypothesized that branching complexity of natural rivers contributes to regional population stability through the creation of a diverse environment.”
Read more at Hokkaido University
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