Dead Organisms Have a Lasting Ecological Legacy, New Research Shows
Researchers found dead foundation species altered recovery in 9 of 10 ecosystems, sometimes helping new growth and sometimes blocking it after extreme events.
- On Wednesday, a study published in Science Advances revealed that dead foundation species profoundly influence ecosystem recovery, analyzing 10 ecosystems to find remnants significantly alter the survival of living organisms.
- Foundation species, including trees, grasses, corals, and oysters, provide essential physical architecture for ecosystems and exert 'ecological memory,' where their remains persist after death to fuel regeneration or create obstacles.
- Dead remains can have conflicting effects; nurse logs nourish new hemlock trees, while coral skeletons host seaweed that chokes out regrowth, hampering recovery in roughly half of the 10 studied cases.
- Lead author Kai Kopecky of the University of Colorado Boulder noted that 'manipulating the dead remains of foundation species might be this very nature-based way of intervening' to protect ecosystems under climate-driven disturbances.
- Researchers drew on the National Science Foundation's Long Term Ecological Research network to gather multi-decadal data, though Andrew Dobson of Princeton University warns this vital work faces risks from the Trump administration's proposed nearly 60 percent funding cuts.
10 Articles
10 Articles
New study finds 'foundation' species continue to shape ecosystems after their death
Foundation species like coral, oysters and big trees are critical to their ecosystems, providing food and shelter. A new study finds their influence continues after their death.
The remains of trees, grasses or mussels can have a massive impact on the recovery of their habitat. A recent study shows this strong effect in ten different ecosystems. The results show how death shapes life.
Inside Climate News
ecotopical.comAcross Ecosystems, Dead Organisms Help Shape the Living World
A new paper found that the remnants of “foundation species” strongly influenced the fate of survivors.By Nicholas KusnetzDeath casts a shadow over life, not only for people but also other animals, plants and entire ecosystems.
The Conversation
littlebytesnews.comLife after death: From burned trees to bleached corals, how dead organisms live on as the building blocks of new life
People’s knee-jerk reaction to seeing death in nature is often not positive. The burn scar left by wildfire on a once-forested hillside, or a ghostly white coral reef, may evoke tragedy and despair. But in nature, most plants and animals are recycled back into new life. The fallen branches and leaves that crunch under your boots as you step on the forest floor are providing nutrients for new growth as they decompose. Empty shells can become the …
Dead organisms have a lasting ecological legacy, new research shows
Trees, grasses, corals, and oysters are foundational to the structure of an ecosystem while they are alive. But new research led by the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado Boulder shows that when they die—due to extreme events like storms, wildfires, or marine heat waves—the physical remains of these species continue shaping the ecosystem.
Legacies of foundation species shape life after death
Abstract Ecosystems carry memory through the material remains of organisms. Foundation species—trees, grasses, corals, and oysters—while alive are central to ecosystem structure, and the remains of these organisms continue to influence ecological processes after death. We conducted, to our knowldge, the first continental-scale exploration of how dead foundation species influence living conspecifics, leveraging long-term experiments and observati…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
