Anthropogenic pressures – such as habitat loss, fragmentation, and climate change – are decreasing global biodiversity. This loss is concerning for many reasons, but a key factor is that diversity is important for ecosystem stability, which is the ability of an ecosystem to remain functional and recover in the face of disturbances.
Diverse ecosystems are more likely to contain species adapted to changing environmental conditions, which provides both redundant and complementary responses to disturbance and promotes stable ecosystems. Connectivity also promotes stability, because it allows species to disperse to where they are best adapted in the face of disturbance. However, most research on diversity-stability relationships is done at small local scales, and we lack understanding of what drives stability across broader regions and how different environmental conditions alter diversity-stability relationships.
Alves, W.F., de Souza, L.C., Schweiger, O., di Cavalcanti V.R., Settele, J., Wiemers, M., Schmucki, R., Kuussaari, M., Tzortzakaki, O., Pettersson, L., Fontaine, B., van Swaay, C., Stefanescu, C., Maes, D., WallisDeVries, M.F., Gianuca, A.T. 2024. Connectivity and climate influence diversity-stability relationships across spatial scales in European butterfly metacommunities. Global Ecology and Biogeography 00:e13896.
Recent research investigated the factors that contribute to butterfly population and community stability at local and regional scales. Researchers used long-term (2005-2016) butterfly data that was collected in seven countries across Europe through community science surveys. These butterfly surveys were combined with data on butterfly dispersal ability, climate (temperature and precipitation), and spatial distance between surveys to evaluate the factors that influence the stability of butterfly populations and communities.
The study found that regional stability of butterfly metacommunities was primarily driven by local community stability. Higher diversity in butterfly communities increased local stability, which contributed to regional metacommunity stability. Maintaining local diversity – through efforts such as protecting habitat – may be significant for maintaining stability at both local and regional scales.
When comparing stability between groups of species differing in dispersal ability, the study found that more mobile butterflies had a higher regional stability. Good dispersal between communities allows species to track the environmental conditions that they are best suited to, promoting population and community stability. While butterflies with a high dispersal ability may be able to move easily, the study suggests that maintaining connectivity for less mobile species is important for stability.
For all butterflies, changes in precipitation and temperature impacted stability. Precipitation decreased butterfly diversity, while warmer temperatures increased both diversity and stability, likely because butterflies tend to favor these conditions. Shifts in climate can alter metacommunity stability; however, the study notes that trends likely differ between taxonomic groups.
These findings highlight three takeaways: biodiversity is stabilizing for ecosystems, connectivity can enhance this stabilizing effect across regions, and climate change may alter biodiversity-stability relationships. Actions to preserve biodiversity are important for maintaining ecosystem stability, alongside mitigating the effects from climate change and connectivity loss.
In the face of anthropogenic pressures, the stability of ecosystems is significant for sustaining ecosystem services and functions. Both local and regional conservation efforts that aim to protect habitat and connectivity are needed to ensure stability across space and time. Considering diversity-stability relationships in the context of conservation initiatives will enhance our ability to predict and mitigate the impacts of anthropogenic change.
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