Researchers used plants and insects, such as the parasitoid aphidius megourae, pictured above

Biodiversity loss raises risk of ‘extinction cascades’

New research shows that the loss of biodiversity can increase the risk of “extinction cascades”, where an initial species loss leads to a domino effect of further extinctions.

The researchers, from the University of Exeter, showed there is a higher risk of extinction cascades when other species are not present to fill the “gap” created by the loss of a species.

Even if the loss of one species does not directly cause knock-on extinctions, the study shows that this leads to simpler ecological communities that are at greater risk of “run-away extinction cascades” with the potential loss of many species.

With extinction rates at their highest levels ever and numerous species under threat due to human activity, the findings are a further warning about the consequences of eroding biodiversity.

“Interactions between species are important for ecosystem (a community of interacting species) stability,” said Dr Dirk Sanders, of the Centre for Ecology and Conservation at the University of Exeter’s Penryn Campus in Cornwall. “And because species are interconnected through multiple interactions, an impact on one species can affect others as well.

“It has been predicted that more complex food webs will be less vulnerable to extinction cascades because there is a greater chance that other species can step in and buffer against the effects of species loss.