Environmental Protection Online - Reef study: The more biodiversity, the better

Dalhousie and McGill University researchers, along with 53 colleagues, studied almost 2,000 coral reef locations to discover that the loss of species can have far-reaching consequences. [...]

“Numerous experiments have showed that biodiversity has positive effects on several ecosystem processes, although the number of species required to ensure the functionality of a given process is fairly low, as many species often have similar ecological roles,” said Michel Loreau from McGill University, a co-author of the study. “What remains largely unknown, however, is whether the results of experimental studies reflect what happens in real ecosystems."