PARENT SESSION
Oral Session #41: Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function I.
Presiding: J. Callaway
Tuesday, August 6. 1:00 PM to 4:45 PM. Coconino Meeting Room, TCC.

Ecosystem functional structure: conceptual framework and applications from pollination and carbon storage.

Balvanera, Patricia^*,1, Kremen, Claire², Martinez-Ramos, Miguel¹, ¹ Instituto de Ecología, UNAM-Morelia, Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico² Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey

ABSTRACT- While a well-developed body of theory exists for examining and describing species diversity in the context of community structure little has been done to provide a theoretical framework for describing and analyzing the functional structure of ecosystems. We present a simple conceptual framework for describing the functional structure of ecosystems that parallels the predominant models of community structure. This framework allows the exploration of the relationship between the magnitude of an aggregate ecological function and species diversity. The framework is based on analysis of the abundance and functional structure of the community, and the relative abundance and relative functionality of individual species. To exemplify the framework we used two cases of ecological function, which are also ecosystem services: pollination of agricultural crops by native bee species in California, and carbon storage in humid forests of Mexico. In both cases, the effects of different land management regimes on the functional and community structure were explored. We discuss how this conceptual basis might be used to generate comparative metrics to describe ecosystem functional structure and to select indicator species of ecosystem function. Finally, we discuss the implications of such framework both for enhancing our understanding of the links between functional and community structures, and for applied issues. such as the assessment of the potential coincidence between biodiversity protection and ecosystem function focused conservation strategies, or the biodiversity and functional consequences of alternative management strategies.

KEY WORDS: Community structure, Species diversity, Ecological function, Ecosystem service