Is it possible to compare the function of biological communities? Scientists from the Universities of Oldenburg and Göttingen are investigating this question in a globally unique project and are jointly researching the functional significance of biodiversity.
Biodiversity in the sea and on land is changing faster than ever before in the history of the earth as a result of global change. While human interventions such as over-fertilisation or land use are reducing biodiversity in many cases, new species are migrating from distant regions or being introduced. The potential consequences of this biodiversity change for ecosystems are a core topic of current research, but have so far been investigated separately in the sea and on land. The joint project "Biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning across marine and terrestrial ecosystems" (BEFmate) of the Universities of Oldenburg and Göttingen aims to close this gap. At the suggestion of the state government, the research project is being funded with three million euros from the Volkswagen Foundation's Niedersächsisches Vorab programme. The funds will be split equally between the two universities.
"This project is unique worldwide," says Prof Dr Helmut Hillebrand, who is coordinating the project on the Oldenburg side. "For the first time, marine and terrestrial ecologists and biologists are working on a joint project on biodiversity with common questions and approaches."
In the first project area, the existing information from the biodiversity research projects carried out at both universities to date will be compiled and jointly analysed. "This type of quantitative synthesis has become an important scientific tool in ecology," explains Hillebrand. "Synthesising the models of different ecosystems is also important for the development of theoretical ecology," adds Prof. Dr Ulrich Brose, who is coordinating BEFmate at the University of Göttingen. In the second area, the modellers at both sites will identify similarities and differences between marine and terrestrial models in order to develop theories on biodiversity change and its consequences for ecosystems.
The third project area will focus on experimental investigations. The first visible sign of the new project can already be seen in the field: an artificial small island measuring 18 square metres has been created in the mudflats off the East Frisian island of Spiekeroog, on which the researchers want to study the colonisation by organisms, the biodiversity that develops in the process and the resulting energy and matter flows. "The island that has now been constructed is a prototype that tests the technical feasibility. We want to build twelve such islands that will allow us to track the development of biodiversity above and below water," says Hillebrand.
The Presidents of the Universities of Oldenburg and Göttingen, Prof Dr Babette Simon and Prof Dr Ulrike Beisiegel, are also looking forward to the start of the joint project. The close and constructive cooperation in biodiversity research is an expression of the good partnership between the two universities.