伐木意味着无脊椎动物失去对雨林的支配权

Invertebrates perform essential functions for the smooth running of the ecosystems in tropical forests. For example, creatures such as termites and millipedes help dead leaves decompose and release their nutrients back into the soil, and carnivorous ants and spiders act as predators of herbivorous invertebrates that would otherwise munch through all the foliage. Nearly a half of all tropical rainforests worldwide have been logged, and this often causes heavy changes to the number and type of invertebrates, with many species being lost from the ecosystem.

New research led by biologists from Imperial College London, published in Nature Communications, has discovered that when invertebrate diversity declines, their vital functions can be carried out by other members of the ecosystem.

The result shows that rainforest ecosystems have a remarkable resilience to change. "Invertebrates are often thought of as the controllers of tropical forests, so it's surprising that people can upset their dominance to this level," said lead author Dr Robert Ewers from the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial.

Although the ecosystem can continue to function with vertebrates taking more of a leading role, Dr Ewers says the situation leaves rainforests vulnerable: "The forest will keep maintaining itself, but it will be much more susceptible to further change. Relying on vertebrates is a bad tactic -- they are less diverse and vulnerable to new challenges such as land use change."