Resilience is one thing, but there are a lot of nuances to what makes species and habitat diversity so important.
This isn’t a perfect example, but the other day I was researching shrimp. There is a genus called neocaridina, and they’re generally detritivores. However, I discovered that many species in the genus eat quite differently. Some will eat hair algae, some won’t. Some like to feed on hard algae, some only soft. Some have preference for higher protein foods, others less. Of the 26 known species, the manifestation of their presence in an ecosystem would actually be quite different.
This is a single genus which would have substantially varying impacts on ponds, streams, and lakes for example. If you have a diverse set of these species, you will be far more likely to keep a variety of detritus and algae sources in check. Reduce the diversity, and perhaps hair algae will get out of control. Once this happens, you might see certain fish or insects lose their habitat because they depend on other vegetation, but the hair algae is absorbing too much light and nutrients now.
This is applies to all kinds of animals, in all kinds of habitats. Diversity means greater balance, greater stability, and means of recovering faster when things collapse.
This isn’t a perfect example, but the other day I was researching shrimp. There is a genus called neocaridina, and they’re generally detritivores. However, I discovered that many species in the genus eat quite differently. Some will eat hair algae, some won’t. Some like to feed on hard algae, some only soft. Some have preference for higher protein foods, others less. Of the 26 known species, the manifestation of their presence in an ecosystem would actually be quite different.
This is a single genus which would have substantially varying impacts on ponds, streams, and lakes for example. If you have a diverse set of these species, you will be far more likely to keep a variety of detritus and algae sources in check. Reduce the diversity, and perhaps hair algae will get out of control. Once this happens, you might see certain fish or insects lose their habitat because they depend on other vegetation, but the hair algae is absorbing too much light and nutrients now.
This is applies to all kinds of animals, in all kinds of habitats. Diversity means greater balance, greater stability, and means of recovering faster when things collapse.