Multi-trophic dynamics and ecosystem processes

It is axiomatic in ecology that the dynamics of one set of species cannot be understood without reference to the dynamics of other species and processes. For instance, biodiversity loss within a trophic level is likely to impact on species at other levels, whether directly through changes in competitive and consumer-resource interactions, or indirectly via changes in ecosystem processes (Fig. 13.1). Such interactions imply that predicting the consequences of biodiversity loss for ecosystem processes will be difficult, especially when, as is often the case, there are simultaneous reductions in diversity at more than one trophic level.