Increased extinction in the emergence of novel ecological communities

Abstract

Change begets change In the Anthropocene, humans are altering ecosystems, causing extinctions, and reassorting species distributions. As we facilitate these changes, we are creating new collections of species. Such “novel communities” are not specific to our epoch, and the patterns of diversity and extinction associated with past events can shed light on the implications of current community restructuring. Pandolfi et al. looked at marine plankton communities over the past ∼66 million years and found that the emergence of novel communities leads to further novelty and extinction (see the Perspective by Dornelas and Madin). Although community change is a natural biological response to environmental change, the current rate of change could lead to impending and rapid impacts. Science , this issue p. 220 ; see also p. 164