Revisiting the classical biodiversity-ecosystem functioning and stability relationships in microbial microcosms

Abstract The question of how biodiversity influences ecosystem functioning and stability has been a central focus in ecological research. Yet, this question remains unresolved, primarily because of the widely divergent definitions of functioning, stability, and diversity. Consequently, forecasts of ecosystem services will remain speculative until we can establish more precise and comprehensive definitions for these concepts than previously. Here, we investigated how the maximum specific growth rate, productivity, mortality rate, and species interaction in microbial communities vary with a diversity gradient ranging from 1 to 16 species under control conditions, starvation, or saline stress. We found that diversity played a critical role in maintaining community growth and stability under control conditions, with higher diversity associated with increased maximum specific growth rate and decreased mortality rate. However, higher diversity was associated with an increased mortality rate under starvation, while diversity did not affect the mortality rate under saline stress. Diversity stabilized microbial productivity only under control conditions, defying the “diversity begets stability” hypothesis under stress. Beneficial interactions among species were prevalent in most samples, but species interaction increased mortality rates under starvation. Our findings suggest that while biodiversity is crucial for preserving ecosystem functioning and stability, the presence of multiple definitions and contextual dependence on environmental conditions argue against any general relationship between diversity and ecosystem functioning/stability. Furthermore, we provide new insights into the longstanding debate surrounding the “diversity begets stability” hypothesis and the “diversity destabilizes ecosystem” hypothesis in that diversity begets stability under control conditions but destabilizes ecosystems under severe stress.