Much of the Cardinale Lab's research focuses on developing a key argument for conservation, which is that biodiversity is the foundation for a healthy planet.
Conservation of species in natural habitats is almost always the best way to ensure the long-term persistence of biodiversity, and ranks among the best ways to protect the ecosystem services that biodiversity provides to society.
A significant part of research in the Cardinale lab focuses on developing a key argument for conservation, which is that biodiversity is the foundation for a healthy planet. Our work has shown that loss of biodiversity impacts important ecological processes that are essential to the productivity and stability of ecosystems, as well as the goods and services they provide to humans. Most of our work has focused on biodiversity in freshwater habitats (streams, lakes, wetlands); however, we have worked in ecosystems as diverse as grasslands, forests, and kelp beds.
Example Projects
We have developed a suite of mathematical models that predict how loss of species, interactions among species, and simplification of food webs influence ecological processes like primary production, decomposition, and nutrient cycling that control the efficiency and productivity of ecosystems.
The Cardinale lab is perhaps best known for its leadership in organizing major data syntheses that have helped foster a consensus about the probable consequences of biodiversity loss for humanity.
