The overlooked effects of global change

Although the Earth is in the midst of one of the largest and most rapid ever reductions in biological diversity, we may be overlooking some of the most important aspects. That's the conclusion of a new path-finding study by University researchers and the Leibnitz Institute of Freshwater Ecology in Berlin. While assessments of the effects of global changes such as climate warming and the loss of natural habitats concentrate mostly on falling species numbers, this work suggests that changes in the species combine and interact could be at least as important. Species affect each other often profoundly, for example as enemies competing for resources. Together, they also provide the building blocks of the world's ecosystems with all their living resources. Any changes in the way species occur together could thus have far-reaching consequences. The study used information on insects and other invertebrates living in streams that had been modified experimentally to mimic global change or by the progressive conversion of the surrounding landscape to agriculture.