Schedule Aug 21, 2003
Ecosystem Engineers, Landscape Diversity and Species Richness: A Pattern Formation Approach
Ehud Meron (Ben Gurion University)

Habitat and species richness in water limited systems are affected by the dynamics of a few key species, termed "ecosystem engineers". Plants forming vegetation patterns and bacteria forming soil-crusts modulate the landscape and redistribute the water resources so as to allow the survival of other species. A model is developed for the study of these properties under various climatic conditions, disturbances regimes, and topographies. The model is used to highlight conditions that give rise to high habitat richness, and suggests mechanisms for species loss events as a result of environmental changes.

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