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An ecosystem comprises all living things in a certain area interacting with one another and their nonliving environment. Due to the detrimental effects of climate change, ecosystems such as coral reefs and rainforests are increasingly threatened. Changes that occur in the ecosystem due to climate change can create an environment that makes it hard for the organisms in that system to survive. These major changes have made some ecosystems completely unrecognisable from their previous state. Ecologists have concluded that simply protecting the ecosystems is not enough. Humans have to actively intervene to restore a disturbed or destroyed ecosystem to a preferred state. The most common form of restoration has been to increase the presence of or reintroduce one or a few important species into the environment.
However, very little attention has been given towards the ways in which we select species that will be reintroduced. Take the Great Barrier Reef - there are more than 600 different species of coral there alone! Since scientists have only finite resources to devote towards restoration it becomes that much more important to choose the right species to start recovering the ecosystem. The current system focuses on easy-to-collect, fast growing species. However, these tend to all have similar characteristics. Therefore, there isn’t enough biodiversity present in the ecosystem to support all of its functions.
A team of scientists have created a tool that uses two processes in order to identify the most important foundation species that should be prioritised during restoration of an ecosystem. Foundation species are those that build and sustain the ecosystem, playing a significant role in the community structure. The tool uses two processes to identify these species. The first ensures that there is a wide range of traits and characteristics across the species. This ensures that there is enough biodiversity so that every aspect of the ecosystem functioning can be supported. The second process identifies species that have characteristics known to make them more likely to survive in the face of environmental changes. This maximises the potential of the survival of the ecosystem and prevents future loss of these species.
These researchers demonstrated the use of their tool by identifying coral species for active restoration projects. They combined databases of coral species’ traits and their ecological persistence. The tool then identified sets of species that should be prioritised that included a wide range of diverse species. This wide range of traits and characteristics mean that this method addresses the need to account for any unpredictable changes that could lead to further disruption of the ecosystem.
This tool moves away from the previous species-focussed approaches as these favour rare or extinct species that may have low survival and adaptability to environmental changes. Instead, it focusses on trait diversity which tends to favour species that form a strong, persistent foundation more likely to maintain many ecosystem functions. It is an important new tool in aiding restoration practitioners in selecting target species for ongoing and new projects.
Works Cited
Grover, Neha. “Foundation Species - Environment Notes.” Prepp.in, 22 Mar. 2023, prepp.in/news/e-492-foundation-species-environment-notes. Accessed 12 July 2023.
Murray, Melissa. “What Is an Ecosystem?” The Australian Museum, 7 Nov. 2018, australian.museum/learn/species-identification/ask-an-expert/what-is-an-ecosystem/. Accessed 12 July 2023.
Science, Australian Institute of Marine. “Scientists Devise Approach for Selecting Coral Species for Reef Restoration.” Phys.org, 3 July 2023, phys.org/news/2023-07-scientists-approach-coral-species-reef.html. Accessed 12 July 2023.
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