@article {4153,
	title = {Biotic interactions are an unexpected yet critical control on the complexity of an abiotically driven polar ecosystem},
	journal = {Communications Biology},
	volume = {2},
	year = {2019},
	month = {02/2019},
	abstract = {<p>Abiotic and biotic factors control ecosystem biodiversity, but their relative contributions remain unclear. The ultraoligotrophic ecosystem of the Antarctic Dry Valleys, a simple yet highly heterogeneous ecosystem, is a natural laboratory well-suited for resolving the abiotic and biotic controls of community structure. We undertook a multidisciplinary investigation to capture ecologically relevant biotic and abiotic attributes of more than 500 sites in the Dry Valleys, encompassing observed landscape heterogeneities across more than 200 km<sup>2</sup>. Using richness of autotrophic and heterotrophic taxa as a proxy for functional complexity, we linked measured variables in a parsimonious yet comprehensive structural equation model that explained significant variations in biological complexity and identified landscape-scale and fine-scale abiotic factors as the primary drivers of diversity. However, the inclusion of linkages among functional groups was essential for constructing the best-fitting model. Our findings support the notion that biotic interactions make crucial contributions even in an extremely simple ecosystem.</p>},
	keywords = {LTER-MCM},
	doi = {10.1038/s42003-018-0274-5},
	url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-018-0274-5},
	author = {Charles K. Lee and Laughlin, Daniel C. and Bottos, Eric M. and Caruso, Tancredi and Joy, Kurt and John E. Barrett and Brabyn, Lars and Uffe N. Nielsen and Byron Adams and Diana H. Wall and D. W. Hopkins and Pointing, Steve B. and McDonald, Ian R. and Cowan, Don A. and Banks, Jonathan C. and Stichbury, Glen A. and Jones, Irfon and Zawar-Reza, Peyman and Katurji, Marwan and Hogg, Ian D. and Sparrow, Ashley D. and Storey, Bryan C. and Allan Green, T. G. and Craig S Cary}
}
