Research and Publications - Department of Biological Sciences

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Browsing Research and Publications - Department of Biological Sciences by Author "Adler, Peter B."

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    Clarifying the effect of biodiversity on productivity in natural ecosystems with longitudinal data and methods for causal inference
    (Nature Portfolio, 2023) Dee, Laura E.; Ferraro, Paul J.; Severen, Christopher N.; Kimmel, Kaitlin A.; Borer, Elizabeth T.; Byrnes, Jarrett E. K.; Clark, Adam Thomas; Hautier, Yann; Hector, Andrew; Raynaud, Xavier; Reich, Peter B.; Wright, Alexandra J.; Arnillas, Carlos A.; Davies, Kendi F.; MacDougall, Andrew; Mori, Akira S.; Smith, Melinda D.; Adler, Peter B.; Bakker, Jonathan D.; Brauman, Kate A.; Cowles, Jane; Komatsu, Kimberly; Knops, Johannes M. H.; McCulley, Rebecca L.; Moore, Joslin L.; Morgan, John W.; Ohlert, Timothy; Power, Sally A.; Sullivan, Lauren L.; Stevens, Carly; Loreau, Michel; University of Colorado Boulder; Johns Hopkins University; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Federal Reserve System - USA; Federal Reserve Bank - Philadelphia; University of Minnesota Twin Cities; University of Massachusetts Boston; University of Graz; Utrecht University; University of Oxford; Universite Paris-Est-Creteil-Val-de-Marne (UPEC); Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); CNRS - Institute of Ecology & Environment (INEE); UDICE-French Research Universities; Sorbonne Universite; Universite Paris Cite; Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD); University of Michigan; Western Sydney University; California State University Los Angeles; University of Toronto; University Toronto Scarborough; University of Guelph; University of Tokyo; Colorado State University; Utah State University; University of Washington; University of Washington Seattle; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa; Smithsonian Institution; Smithsonian Environmental Research Center; University of Kentucky; Monash University; La Trobe University; Michigan State University; Lancaster University
    Isolating the relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in natural ecosystems is challenging. Here, the authors apply a causal inference approach to observational data from grasslands and find a negative effect of biodiversity on productivity driven by non-native and rare species. Causal effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functions can be estimated using experimental or observational designs - designs that pose a tradeoff between drawing credible causal inferences from correlations and drawing generalizable inferences. Here, we develop a design that reduces this tradeoff and revisits the question of how plant species diversity affects productivity. Our design leverages longitudinal data from 43 grasslands in 11 countries and approaches borrowed from fields outside of ecology to draw causal inferences from observational data. Contrary to many prior studies, we estimate that increases in plot-level species richness caused productivity to decline: a 10% increase in richness decreased productivity by 2.4%, 95% CI [-4.1, -0.74]. This contradiction stems from two sources. First, prior observational studies incompletely control for confounding factors. Second, most experiments plant fewer rare and non-native species than exist in nature. Although increases in native, dominant species increased productivity, increases in rare and non-native species decreased productivity, making the average effect negative in our study. By reducing the tradeoff between experimental and observational designs, our study demonstrates how observational studies can complement prior ecological experiments and inform future ones.
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    Clarifying the effect of biodiversity on productivity in natural ecosystems with longitudinal data and methods for causal inference (vol 14, 2607, 2023)
    (Nature Portfolio, 2023) Dee, Laura E.; Ferraro, Paul J.; Severen, Christopher N.; Kimmel, Kaitlin A.; Borer, Elizabeth T.; Byrnes, Jarrett E. K.; Clark, Adam Thomas; Hautier, Yann; Hector, Andrew; Raynaud, Xavier; Reich, Peter B.; Wright, Alexandra J.; Arnillas, Carlos A.; Davies, Kendi F.; MacDougall, Andrew; Mori, Akira S.; Smith, Melinda D.; Adler, Peter B.; Bakker, Jonathan D.; Brauman, Kate A.; Cowles, Jane; Komatsu, Kimberly; Knops, Johannes M. H.; McCulley, Rebecca L.; Moore, Joslin L.; Morgan, John W.; Ohlert, Timothy; Power, Sally A.; Sullivan, Lauren L.; Stevens, Carly; Loreau, Michel; University of Colorado Boulder; Johns Hopkins University; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Federal Reserve System - USA; Federal Reserve Bank - Philadelphia; University of Minnesota Twin Cities; University of Massachusetts Boston; University of Graz; Utrecht University; University of Oxford; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); CNRS - Institute of Ecology & Environment (INEE); UDICE-French Research Universities; Universite Paris Cite; Sorbonne Universite; Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD); Universite Paris-Est-Creteil-Val-de-Marne (UPEC); INRAE; University of Michigan; Western Sydney University; California State University Los Angeles; University of Toronto; University Toronto Scarborough; University of Guelph; University of Tokyo; Colorado State University; Utah State University; University of Washington; University of Washington Seattle; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa; Smithsonian Institution; Smithsonian Environmental Research Center; University of Kentucky; Monash University; La Trobe University; Michigan State University; Lancaster University