Symbioses and the Biodiversity-Ecosystem Function Relationship

Dear Colleagues,

Understanding the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function has become a major sub-discipline of ecology, providing important insight into the operation and potential conservation of complex ecosystems. In many ecosystems, symbiotic partnerships (e.g., plant–microbe, plant–insect, coral–algae, cleaner fish/birds, gut–microbe, host–pathogen) can have dramatic impacts on ecosystem functioning. Indeed, the multi-species nature of symbiotic relationships amplifies the potential for symbiont biodiversity to play a particularly strong role in driving ecosystem function. However, our understanding of how ecosystem function is influenced by changes in the biodiversity of hosts and their symbionts remains in its early stages.

Does the diversity of the symbiont community influence its host’s function in an ecosystem? Do patterns of host and symbiont diversity and function co-vary across space and time? Does the increased diversity of symbiotic partnerships have a disproportionate influence on total ecosystem function? How does the biodiversity and functioning of an ecosystem influence the propensity for symbioses to occur? Answering these questions and others holds great potential for increasing our understanding of how biodiversity influences the functioning of natural ecosystems. For this Special Issue, we welcome theoretical, empirical, and synthesizing work on the role that symbiosis plays in driving biodiversity–ecosystem function relationships in terrestrial and/or aquatic ecosystems.

Dr. Kimberly (La Pierre) Komatsu
Dr. Benton Taylor
Guest Editors

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