# Depauperate ecosystem
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{{Short description|Area of low biodiversity}}
[[File:A_Glacier_Flowing_Through_a_Section_of_the_McMurdo_Dry_Valleys_in_Antarctica_(30279240454).jpg|alt=A glacier surrounded by barren mountains in McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica|thumb|[Antarctica](/source/Antarctica) is a naturally depauperate ecosystem because of its extreme environment.]]
A '''depauperate ecosystem''' is an [ecosystem](/source/ecosystem) characterized by low [species richness](/source/species_richness) or [species diversity](/source/species_diversity). Such ecosystems will have short or simplified [food chains](/source/Food_chain) and low [trophic complexity](/source/Trophic_level) compared to those with higher [biodiversity](/source/biodiversity), often due to low resource availability.[{{Cite journal |last1=Des Roches |first1=Simone |last2=Harmon |first2=Luke J. |last3=Rosenblum |first3=Erica B. |date=2016 |title=Colonization of a novel depauperate habitat leads to trophic niche shifts in three desert lizard species |url=https://nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/oik.02493 |journal=Oikos |language=en |volume=125 |issue=3 |pages=343–353 |doi=10.1111/oik.02493 |bibcode=2016Oikos.125..343D |issn=1600-0706|url-access=subscription }}] However, this simplicity also means that [colonizing](/source/Colonisation_(biology)) species may be able to exploit different or broader [niches](/source/Ecological_niche) than in their original habitat due to factors such as reduced pressure from predators or reduced resource competition,[{{Cite journal |last1=Costa |first1=Gabriel C. |last2=Mesquita |first2=Daniel O. |last3=Colli |first3=Guarino R. |last4=Vitt |first4=Laurie J. |date=2008 |title=Niche Expansion and the Niche Variation Hypothesis: Does the Degree of Individual Variation Increase in Depauperate Assemblages? |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/592998 |journal=The American Naturalist |volume=172 |issue=6 |pages=868–877 |doi=10.1086/592998 |pmid=18950275 |bibcode=2008ANat..172..868C |issn=0003-0147|url-access=subscription }}] For this reason, depauperate ecosystems are often more vulnerable to [invasive species](/source/invasive_species) than those with greater diversity.[{{Cite journal |last=Denslow |first=Julie S. |date=2003 |title=Weeds in Paradise: Thoughts on the Invasibility of Tropical Islands |journal=Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden |volume=90 |issue=1 |pages=119–127 |doi=10.2307/3298531 |jstor=3298531 |bibcode=2003AnMBG..90..119D |issn=0026-6493}}][{{Cite journal |last1=Sánchez-Ortiz |first1=Katia |last2=Taylor |first2=Kara J. M. |last3=Palma |first3=Adriana De |last4=Essl |first4=Franz |last5=Dawson |first5=Wayne |last6=Kreft |first6=Holger |last7=Pergl |first7=Jan |last8=Pyšek |first8=Petr |last9=Kleunen |first9=Mark van |last10=Weigelt |first10=Patrick |last11=Purvis |first11=Andy |date=2020-12-03 |title=Effects of land-use change and related pressures on alien and native subsets of island communities |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=15 |issue=12 |article-number=e0227169 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0227169 |doi-access=free |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=7714193 |pmid=33270641|bibcode=2020PLoSO..1527169S }}]
Depauperate ecosystems may be naturally occurring or man-made. An ecosystem may be naturally depauperate due to physical isolation, as in the case of oceanic islands,[{{Cite journal |last1=Raposeiro |first1=Pedro Miguel |last2=Martins |first2=Gustavo Meneses |last3=Moniz |first3=Isadora |last4=Cunha |first4=Andreia |last5=Costa |first5=Ana Cristina |last6=Gonçalves |first6=Vitor |date=2014-03-01 |title=Leaf litter decomposition in remote oceanic islands: The role of macroinvertebrates vs. microbial decomposition of native vs. exotic plant species |journal=Limnologica |volume=45 |pages=80–87 |doi=10.1016/j.limno.2013.10.006 |bibcode=2014Limng..45...80R |issn=0075-9511|doi-access=free }}] or because of extreme environmental conditions that limit the number of viable ecological niches, as in [Antarctica](/source/Antarctica).[{{Cite journal |last1=Magalhães |first1=Catarina |last2=Stevens |first2=Mark I. |last3=Cary |first3=S. Craig |last4=Ball |first4=Becky A. |last5=Storey |first5=Bryan C. |last6=Wall |first6=Diana H. |last7=Türk |first7=Roman |last8=Ruprecht |first8=Ulrike |date=2012-09-19 |editor-last=de Bello |editor-first=Francesco |title=At Limits of Life: Multidisciplinary Insights Reveal Environmental Constraints on Biotic Diversity in Continental Antarctica |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=7 |issue=9 |article-number=e44578 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0044578 |doi-access=free |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=3446939 |pmid=23028563|bibcode=2012PLoSO...744578M }}] The creation of [plantations](/source/Plantation) or other modifications of land for human use can produce depauperate ecosystems where greater biodiversity was formerly present.[{{Cite journal |last1=Phifer |first1=Colin C. |last2=Knowlton |first2=Jessie L. |last3=Webster |first3=Christopher R. |last4=Flaspohler |first4=David J. |last5=Licata |first5=Julian A. |date=2017-12-01 |title=Bird community responses to afforested eucalyptus plantations in the Argentine pampas |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10531-016-1126-6 |journal=Biodiversity and Conservation |language=en |volume=26 |issue=13 |pages=3073–3101 |doi=10.1007/s10531-016-1126-6 |bibcode=2017BiCon..26.3073P |issn=1572-9710|url-access=subscription }}] Depauperate ecosystems are less effective at providing [ecosystem services](/source/Ecosystem_service)[{{Cite journal |last1=Lefcheck |first1=Jonathan S. |last2=Byrnes |first2=Jarrett E. K. |last3=Isbell |first3=Forest |last4=Gamfeldt |first4=Lars |last5=Griffin |first5=John N. |last6=Eisenhauer |first6=Nico |last7=Hensel |first7=Marc J. S. |last8=Hector |first8=Andy |last9=Cardinale |first9=Bradley J. |last10=Duffy |first10=J. Emmett |date=2015-04-24 |title=Biodiversity enhances ecosystem multifunctionality across trophic levels and habitats |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=6 |issue=1 |page=6936 |doi=10.1038/ncomms7936 |issn=2041-1723 |pmc=4423209 |pmid=25907115|bibcode=2015NatCo...6.6936L }}] and less resistant to adverse climate events[{{Cite journal |last1=Isbell |first1=Forest |last2=Craven |first2=Dylan |last3=Connolly |first3=John |last4=Loreau |first4=Michel |last5=Schmid |first5=Bernhard |last6=Beierkuhnlein |first6=Carl |last7=Bezemer |first7=T. Martijn |last8=Bonin |first8=Catherine |last9=Bruelheide |first9=Helge |last10=de Luca |first10=Enrica |last11=Ebeling |first11=Anne |last12=Griffin |first12=John N. |last13=Guo |first13=Qinfeng |last14=Hautier |first14=Yann |last15=Hector |first15=Andy |date=2015 |title=Biodiversity increases the resistance of ecosystem productivity to climate extremes |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/nature15374 |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=526 |issue=7574 |pages=574–577 |doi=10.1038/nature15374 |pmid=26466564 |bibcode=2015Natur.526..574I |hdl=11299/184546 |issn=1476-4687|hdl-access=free }}] than biodiverse ecosystems. Naturally depauperate ecosystems also present a unique conservation challenge due to their high degree of [endemism](/source/endemism). Human activity may inadvertently increase biodiversity by introducing new species directly or by altering the environment to be hospitable to a wider range of organisms, which can modify trophic interactions to push out species that may not exist elsewhere.[{{Cite journal |last1=Hernandez |first1=A. D. |last2=Bunnell |first2=J. F. |last3=Sukhdeo |first3=M. V. K. |date=2007 |title=Composition and diversity patterns in metazoan parasite communities and anthropogenic disturbance in stream ecosystems |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0031182006001247/type/journal_article |journal=Parasitology |language=en |volume=134 |issue=1 |pages=91–102 |doi=10.1017/S0031182006001247 |pmid=17032473 |issn=0031-1820|url-access=subscription }}]
== Types ==
=== Naturally depauperate ecosystems ===
An ecosystem may be depauperate due to environmental constraints, such as extremes of temperature, limited availability of water or nutrients, frequent disturbance, or high toxicity.[{{Cite journal |last1=Berman |first1=Maïa |last2=Andersen |first2=Alan N. |date=2012 |title=New Caledonia has a depauperate subterranean ant fauna, despite spectacular radiations above ground |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10531-012-0309-z |journal=Biodiversity and Conservation |language=en |volume=21 |issue=10 |pages=2489–2497 |doi=10.1007/s10531-012-0309-z |bibcode=2012BiCon..21.2489B |issn=0960-3115|url-access=subscription }}]
[[File:Pinus_taeda_plantation.jpg|alt=Several widely spaced rows of pine trees with no other plants present|thumb|An example of a monoculture [pine](/source/pine) [plantation](/source/Tree_plantation)]]
=== Degraded ecosystems ===
A historically biodiverse ecosystem may become depauperate due to various types of human activity, including [hunting](/source/hunting), [warfare](/source/War), [industrialization](/source/Industrialisation), [deforestation](/source/deforestation) and other forms of resource exploitation, [road](/source/road) construction, and [tourism](/source/tourism).[{{Cite journal |last1=Huang |first1=Kang |last2=Zhang |first2=He |last3=Wang |first3=Chengliang |last4=Hou |first4=Rong |last5=Zhang |first5=Pei |last6=He |first6=Gang |last7=Guo |first7=Songtao |last8=Tang |first8=Shiyi |last9=Li |first9=Baoguo |last10=Oxnard |first10=Charles |last11=Pan |first11=Ruliang |date=2021 |title=Use of historical and contemporary distribution of mammals in China to inform conservation |url=https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cobi.13795 |journal=Conservation Biology |language=en |volume=35 |issue=6 |pages=1787–1796 |doi=10.1111/cobi.13795 |pmid=34219272 |bibcode=2021ConBi..35.1787H |issn=0888-8892|url-access=subscription }}] [Land use](/source/Land_use) changes have been estimated to be the most impactful driver of [biodiversity loss](/source/biodiversity_loss) in all biomes, with other forms of [anthropogenic change](/source/Human_impact_on_the_environment) such as invasive species, alterations to the [nitrogen cycle](/source/nitrogen_cycle), and shifts in climate having more variable effects depending on the biome under study.[{{Cite journal |last1=Sala |first1=Osvaldo E. |last2=Chapin |first2=F. Stuart |last3=Armesto |first3=Juan J. |last4=Berlow |first4=Eric |last5=Bloomfield |first5=Janine |last6=Dirzo |first6=Rodolfo |last7=Huber-Sanwald |first7=Elisabeth |last8=Huenneke |first8=Laura F. |last9=Jackson |first9=Robert B. |last10=Kinzig |first10=Ann |last11=Leemans |first11=Rik |last12=Lodge |first12=David M. |last13=Mooney |first13=Harold A. |last14=Oesterheld |first14=Martín |last15=Poff |first15=N. LeRoy |date=2000 |title=Global Biodiversity Scenarios for the Year 2100 |journal=Science |volume=287 |issue=5459 |pages=1770–1774 |doi=10.1126/science.287.5459.1770 |jstor=3074591 |pmid=10710299 |bibcode=2000Sci...287.1770S |issn=0036-8075}}] Direct reduction of biodiversity in one taxon can reduce diversity in others and may also have farther-reaching effects. For example, [single-species](/source/Monoculture) [eucalyptus](/source/Eucalyptus_grandis) plantations in [Argentina](/source/Argentina) support less complex bird communities than either undeveloped [pampas](/source/pampas) or mixed-use agricultural land, and their presence may present an obstacle to dispersal, resulting in increased [habitat fragmentation](/source/habitat_fragmentation).[{{Cite journal |last1=Pires |first1=Mathias M. |last2=Galetti |first2=Mauro |date=2023 |title=Beyond the "empty forest": The defaunation syndromes of Neotropical forests in the Anthropocene |journal=Global Ecology and Conservation |language=en |volume=41 |article-number=e02362 |doi=10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02362|bibcode=2023GEcoC..4102362P |doi-access=free }}] The loss of [seed predators](/source/Seed_predation) or large herbivores, on the other hand, can lead to an overabundance of their primary food source, leading to the [competitive exclusion](/source/Competitive_exclusion_principle) of other plant species.[{{Cite journal |last1=Mills |first1=Charlotte H. |last2=Gordon |first2=Christopher E. |last3=Letnic |first3=Mike |date=2018 |editor-last=Seymour |editor-first=Colleen |title=Rewilded mammal assemblages reveal the missing ecological functions of granivores |url=https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2435.12950 |journal=Functional Ecology |language=en |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=475–485 |doi=10.1111/1365-2435.12950 |bibcode=2018FuEco..32..475M |issn=0269-8463}}]
== Evolution in depauperate ecosystems ==
=== Niche expansion and adaptive radiation ===
The introduction of a new species into a depauperate ecosystem may lead to [ecological release](/source/ecological_release) due to the reduction of [interspecific competition](/source/interspecific_competition) or absence of usual [predators](/source/Predation), or availability of new prey species or other resources to exploit. Species may shift to a lower trophic level than they occupied in their original habitat due to the shorter food chains that are usually present in depauperate ecosystems.[{{Cite journal |last1=Koene |first1=J Peter |last2=Elmer |first2=Kathryn R |last3=Adams |first3=Colin E |date=2020-11-06 |title=Intraspecific variation and structuring of phenotype in a lake-dwelling species are driven by lake size and elevation |url=https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article/131/3/585/5937293 |journal=Biological Journal of the Linnean Society |language=en |volume=131 |issue=3 |pages=585–599 |doi=10.1093/biolinnean/blaa137 |issn=0024-4066|url-access=subscription }}] which may result in a [radiation](/source/Adaptive_radiation) of numerous species to exploit niches that were not present in the original habitat if sufficient resources are present to support them.[{{Cite journal |last=Eastman |first=Joseph T. |date=2024-03-30 |title=The Axes of Divergence for the Evolutionary Radiation of Notothenioid Fishes in Antarctica |journal=Diversity |language=en |volume=16 |issue=4 |page=214 |doi=10.3390/d16040214 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2024Diver..16..214E |issn=1424-2818}}] This may be more likely in areas that are thermally or geographically isolated.[{{Cite journal |last=Rogers |first=Alex David |date=2007-12-29 |title=Evolution and biodiversity of Antarctic organisms: a molecular perspective |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |language=en |volume=362 |issue=1488 |pages=2191–2214 |doi=10.1098/rstb.2006.1948 |issn=0962-8436 |pmc=2443175 |pmid=17553774}}]
=== Endemism ===
Because depauperate ecosystems are often highly isolated, they tend to exhibit high rates of [endemism](/source/endemism).[{{Cite journal |last1=Sianta |first1=Shelley A. |last2=Kay |first2=Kathleen M. |date=2019 |title=Adaptation and divergence in edaphic specialists and generalists: serpentine soil endemics in the California flora occur in barer serpentine habitats with lower soil calcium levels than serpentine tolerators |url=https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajb2.1285 |journal=American Journal of Botany |language=en |volume=106 |issue=5 |pages=690–703 |doi=10.1002/ajb2.1285 |pmid=31070790 |issn=0002-9122}}] The limited resource availability and severe environmental constraints that are typical of depauperate ecosystems exert strong [selection pressure](/source/Evolutionary_pressure) on the species within them, and endemic species may bear little resemblance to their close relatives due to the extreme adaptations required for their long-term survival.[{{Cite journal |last1=Moret |first1=Pierre |last2=Arenas-Clavijo |first2=Anderson |last3=López-Victoria |first3=Mateo |date=2023-11-22 |title=Description of a Highly Modified Endemic Ground Beetle (Coleoptera, Carabidae) from the Oceanic Island of Malpelo, Colombia |journal=Taxonomy |language=en |volume=3 |issue=4 |pages=496–508 |doi=10.3390/taxonomy3040028 |doi-access=free |issn=2673-6500}}] They are often adapted to extremely specific conditions, such as the narrow range of temperatures that can be tolerated by highly cold- or heat-adapted organisms, which makes them unusually vulnerable to climate change and other ecological disruptions.[{{Cite journal |last1=Ewers |first1=Robert M. |last2=Orme |first2=C. David L. |last3=Pearse |first3=William D. |last4=Zulkifli |first4=Nursyamin |last5=Yvon-Durocher |first5=Genevieve |last6=Yusah |first6=Kalsum M. |last7=Yoh |first7=Natalie |last8=Yeo |first8=Darren C. J. |last9=Wong |first9=Anna |last10=Williamson |first10=Joseph |last11=Wilkinson |first11=Clare L. |last12=Wiederkehr |first12=Fabienne |last13=Webber |first13=Bruce L. |last14=Wearn |first14=Oliver R. |last15=Wai |first15=Leona |date=2024-07-25 |title=Thresholds for adding degraded tropical forest to the conservation estate |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=631 |issue=8022 |pages=808–813 |doi=10.1038/s41586-024-07657-w |issn=0028-0836 |pmc=11269177 |pmid=39020163|bibcode=2024Natur.631..808E }}] [Rewilding](/source/Rewilding) is one means of restoring an ecosystem that has been made depauperate by human activity, through methods such as [reintroducing](/source/Species_reintroduction) species that have been extirpated and thereby reversing the loss of trophic complexity.[{{Cite journal |last1=Stachowicz |first1=John J. |last2=Bruno |first2=John F. |last3=Duffy |first3=J. Emmett |date=2007 |title=Understanding the Effects of Marine Biodiversity on Communities and Ecosystems |journal=Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics |volume=38 |pages=739–766 |doi=10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.38.091206.095659 |jstor=30033878 |issn=1543-592X}}] Environmental factors that limit biodiversity in naturally depauperate ecosystems may be inadvertently altered by human activity, such as when [eutrophication](/source/eutrophication) makes an acidic freshwater ecosystem more hospitable to species that do not tolerate acidity well. These [generalist](/source/Generalist_and_specialist_species) species may then outcompete the more specifically adapted native [biota](/source/Biota_(biology)), so that greater biodiversity is not necessarily a sign of ecosystem health.[{{Cite journal |last1=Chown |first1=Steven L. |last2=Clarke |first2=Andrew |last3=Fraser |first3=Ceridwen I. |last4=Cary |first4=S. Craig |last5=Moon |first5=Katherine L. |last6=McGeoch |first6=Melodie A. |date=2015 |title=The changing form of Antarctic biodiversity |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/nature14505 |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=522 |issue=7557 |pages=431–438 |doi=10.1038/nature14505 |pmid=26108852 |bibcode=2015Natur.522..431C |issn=0028-0836|url-access=subscription }}]
Ecosystems with lower biodiversity are less resistant to [productivity](/source/Productivity_(ecology)) loss caused by [extreme climate events](/source/Extreme_climate_event),