TY - JOUR AB - Background Recent investigations suggest that biodiversity loss might impair the functioning and sustainability of ecosystems. Although deep-sea ecosystems are the most extensive on Earth, represent the largest reservoir of biomass, and host a large proportion of undiscovered biodiversity, the data needed to evaluate the consequences of biodiversity loss on the ocean floor are completely lacking. Results Here, we present a global-scale study based on 116 deep-sea sites that relates benthic biodiversity to several independent indicators of ecosystem functioning and efficiency. We show that deep-sea ecosystem functioning is exponentially related to deep-sea biodiversity and that ecosystem efficiency is also exponentially linked to functional biodiversity. These results suggest that a higher biodiversity supports higher rates of ecosystem processes and an increased efficiency with which these processes are performed. The exponential relationships presented here, being consistent across a wide range of deep-sea ecosystems, suggest that mutually positive functional interactions (ecological facilitation) can be common in the largest biome of our biosphere. Conclusions Our results suggest that a biodiversity loss in deep-sea ecosystems might be associated with exponential reductions of their functions. Because the deep sea plays a key role in ecological and biogeochemical processes at a global scale, this study provides scientific evidence that the conservation of deep-sea biodiversity is a priority for a sustainable functioning of the worlds' oceans. A1 - Danovaro, R. A1 - Gambi, M. C. A1 - Dell'Anno, A. A1 - Corinaldesi, C. A1 - Fraschetti, S. A1 - Vanreusel, A. A1 - Vincx, M. A1 - Gooday, A. J. DO - 10.1016/j.cub.2007.11.056 JO - Current Biology N1 - NeMys doc_id: 17947 C1 - 18(1): 1-8 + supplemental data: S1-S6; 1-16 TI - Exponential decline of deep-sea ecosystem functioning linked to benthic biodiversity loss UR - https://www.marinespecies.org/berms/aphia.php?p=sourcedetails&id=178920 PY - 2008 Y2 - 2024-03-28 ER -