Bianca Lopez, Associate Editor, Science, 17 October 2024
Shipley, JR et al. Consumer biodiversity increases organic nutrient availability across aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Science 386, 335–340 (2024)

More diverse ecosystems are more nutritious: Consumer biodiversity increases organic nutrient availability across aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems

Many species are declining as a result of expanding cities, farmlands, and industrial activities, as well as a rapidly changing climate. In addition to the obvious concern about losing species to extinction, ecologists also wonder how biodiversity loss will affect the ways that ecosystems function. In many studies, biodiversity loss leads to declining productivity (measured in plant biomass), which acts as the base for the entire food web. But less is known about how biodiversity affects the roles of consumers (herbivores and predators), including the services they provide to us.

Small, primary and secondary consumers like insects and spiders act as a link in the food web between plants and larger animals such as birds and fish. Consumers not only concentrate nutrients within their tissues, but they also synthesize essential nutrients that aren’t found in plants. By examining nutrients in insect and spider communities, Shipley et al. found that biodiversity isn’t just the spice of life—it also provides greater nutrition in the ecosystem.