Theory posits that resilience of ecosystems increases when there is a diversity of agents (e.g., species) and linkages between them. If ecosystems are conceptualized as components of coupled human and natural systems, then a corollary would be that novel types of human-induced diversity may also foster resilience. We explored this hypothesis by studying how socially created diversity mediated the impact of a historically severe drought on a network of wetlands in the foothills of the California Sierra Nevada containing a metapopulation of the threatened California Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis coturniculus). We examined how (1) diversity in motivations for land ownership affected use of irrigation water and response to drought; (2) differences in natural and irrigated water sources affected wetland drying in response to drought; and (3) these processes affected the persistence of rails and the transmission risk of West Nile virus (WNV), an emerging infectious disease that threatens people and rails. Wetlands were mostly fed by inefficiencies and leaks from the irrigation system. Wetlands with both natural and irrigated water sources were larger, wetter, and likelier to persist through drought because these two sources showed response diversity by drying at different times. Wetlands with diverse water sources also provided the best habitat for the California Black Rail, and irrigation appeared responsible for its persistence through the drought. Irrigation increased WNV transmission risk by increasing the quantity, but not the quality, of wetland habitats for mosquitoes. The impacts of social diversity were more ambiguous, with redundancy prevalent. However, profit-motivated landowners provided wetlands more irrigation during nondrought conditions, whereas other landowner types were more likely to continue providing irrigation during drought. Our results highlight that conservation in social-ecological systems requires assessing not only the value of historic ecological diversity, but also how novel types of socially induced diversity may benefit ecosystems.

中文翻译：

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在人类和自然系统耦合的湿地中评估社会生态多样性对复原力的影响

理论认为，当各种因素（例如物种）及其相互联系时，生态系统的复原力会增加。如果将生态系统概念化为人类和自然系统耦合的组成部分，那么必然的结果是，人类引起的新型多样性也可能促进复原力。我们通过研究社会创造的多样性如何介导历史上严重的干旱对内华达州塞拉利昂山麓湿地网络的影响来探讨这一假设，内华达州山麓地带包含受威胁的加利福尼亚黑铁路（Laterallus jamaicensis coturniculus）的种群。我们研究了（1）土地所有权动机的多样性如何影响灌溉水的使用和干旱响应；（2）天然水源和灌溉水源的差异影响了干旱对干旱的响应；（3）这些过程影响了铁轨的持久性和西尼罗河病毒（WNV）的传播风险，西尼罗河病毒是一种新兴的传染病，威胁着人们和铁轨。效率低下和灌溉系统的渗漏给湿地提供了很多食物。拥有天然水源和灌溉水源的湿地更大，更湿，并且更可能在干旱中持续存在，因为这两个水源在不同的时间表现出不同的响应变化。拥有多种水源的湿地也为加利福尼亚黑铁路提供了最佳的栖息地，灌溉似乎是其在干旱中持续存在的原因。灌溉增加了湿地栖息地的蚊子数量，但没有增加其质量，增加了WNV传播的风险。社会多样性的影响更为模糊，普遍存在冗余。然而，受利益驱动的土地所有者在非干旱条件下为湿地提供了更多的灌溉，而其他土地所有者类型则更有可能在干旱期间继续提供灌溉。我们的结果表明，社会生态系统中的保护不仅需要评估历史生态多样性的价值，还需要评估新型的社会诱发的多样性如何使生态系统受益。