News- A study in Nature Communications reported that short-term species turnover has slowed in many ecosystems over the past century.
About Species Turnover
- Species turnover is the rate at which species exit and are replaced by others within ecological communities.
- It occurs because of species interactions such as competition, predation, and mutualisms.
Key Aspects of Species Turnover:
- Spatial Turnover (β-Diversity): Researchers analysed biodiversity surveys across land, freshwater, and marine habitats, showing variation in species composition across different ecosystems.
- Temporal Turnover: Short-term turnover over 1–5 years has slowed in many communities over the last century, often declining by about one-third.
- Drivers: Changes in species composition are often shaped by internal ecosystem dynamics, environmental degradation, shrinking regional species pools, and anthropogenic impacts like habitat destruction, pollution, and fragmentation.
