@article{Nemys:SourceID:178920, abstract = {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.}, author = {Danovaro, R. and Gambi, M. C. and Dell'Anno, A. and Corinaldesi, C. and Fraschetti, S. and Vanreusel, A. and Vincx, M. and Gooday, A. J.}, doi = {10.1016/j.cub.2007.11.056}, journal = {Current Biology}, note = {NeMys doc_id: 17947}, title = {Exponential decline of deep-sea ecosystem functioning linked to benthic biodiversity loss}, url = {https://www.nemys.ugent.be/aphia.php?p=sourcedetails&id=178920}, year = {2008} }