A groundbreaking study has revealed a concerning trend: the natural systems that perpetually repair environmental imbalances are decelerating. Researchers at Queen Mary University of London discovered this unexpected slowdown in nature’s ‘self-repairing engine’ as the rate of species turnover has decreased over recent decades.
Analyzing data from ‘BioTIME’, a comprehensive global biodiversity database, the team compared species turnover rates across marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems. Contrary to expectations of accelerated turnover due to climate change, they found a significant decline since the 1970s, suggesting that intrinsic ecological mechanisms might be at play.
The research suggests nature is stuck in a theoretical ‘Multiple Attractors’ phase, dominated by internal species interactions despite environmental changes. This dynamic, while previously only theorized, now poses potential ecological challenges as it struggles against human-induced habitat degradation and diminishing regional biodiversity pools.