1
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Karatayev VA, Baskett ML, van Nes EH. The Potential for Alternative Stable States in Food Webs Depends on Feedback Mechanism and Trait Diversity. Am Nat 2023; 202:260-275. [PMID: 37606941 DOI: 10.1086/725421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/23/2023]
Abstract
AbstractAlternative stable ecosystem states are possible under the same environmental conditions in models of two or three interacting species and an array of feedback loops. However, multispecies food webs might weaken the feedbacks loops that can create alternative stable states. To test how this potential depends on food web properties, we develop a many-species model where consumer Allee effects emerge from consumer-resource interactions. We evaluate the interactive effects of food web connectance, interspecific trait diversity, and two classes of feedbacks: specialized feedbacks, where consumption of individual resources declines at high resource abundance (e.g., from schooling or reaching size refugia), and aggregate feedbacks, where overall resource abundance reduces consumer recruitment (e.g., from resources enhancing competition or mortality experienced by recruits). We find that aggregate feedbacks maintain, and specialized feedbacks reduce, the potential for alternative states. Interspecific trait diversity decreases the prevalence of alternative stable states more for specialized than for aggregate feedbacks. Increasing food web connectance increases the potential for alternative stable states for aggregated feedbacks but decreases it for specialized feedbacks, where losing vulnerable consumers can cascade into food web collapses. Altogether, multispecies food webs can limit the set of processes that create alternative stable states and impede consumer recovery from disturbance.
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2
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Bundschuh M, Mesquita-Joanes F, Rico A, Camacho A. Understanding Ecological Complexity in a Chemical Stress Context: A Reflection on Recolonization, Recovery, and Adaptation of Aquatic Populations and Communities. ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY 2023; 42:1857-1866. [PMID: 37204216 DOI: 10.1002/etc.5677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2023] [Revised: 04/17/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Recovery, recolonization, and adaptation in a chemical stress context are processes that regenerate local populations and communities as well as the functions these communities perform. Recolonization, either by species previously present or by new species able to occupy the niches left empty, refers to a metacommunity process with stressed ecosystems benefiting from the dispersal of organisms from other areas. A potential consequence of recolonization is a limited capacity of local populations to adapt to potentially repeating events of chemical stress exposure when their niches have been effectively occupied by the new colonizers or by new genetic lineages of the taxa previously present. Recovery, instead, is an internal process occurring within stressed ecosystems. More specifically, the impact of a stressor on a community benefits less sensitive individuals of a local population as well as less sensitive taxa within a community. Finally, adaptation refers to phenotypic and, sometimes, genetic changes at the individual and population levels, allowing the permanence of individuals of previously existing taxa without necessarily changing the community taxonomic composition (i.e., not replacing sensitive species). Because these processes are usually operating in parallel in nature, though at different degrees, it seems relevant to try to understand their relative importance for the regeneration of community structure and ecosystem functioning after chemical exposure. In the present critical perspective, we employed case studies supporting our understanding of the underlying processes with the hope to provide a theoretical framework to disentangle the relevance of the three processes for the regeneration of a biological community after chemical exposure. Finally, we provide some recommendations to experimentally compare their relative importance so that the net effects of these processes can be used to parameterize risk-assessment models and inform ecosystem management. Environ Toxicol Chem 2023;42:1857-1866. © 2023 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirco Bundschuh
- iES Landau, Institute for Environmental Sciences, RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau, Landau, Germany
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Francesc Mesquita-Joanes
- Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, València, Spain
| | - Andreu Rico
- Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, València, Spain
- IMDEA Water Institute, Science and Technology Campus of the University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain
| | - Antonio Camacho
- Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, València, Spain
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3
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Henriksen EH, Frainer A, Poulin R, Knudsen R, Amundsen P. Ectoparasites population dynamics are affected by host body size but not host density or water temperature in a 32‐year long time series. OIKOS 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.09328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Eirik H. Henriksen
- Dept of Arctic and Marine Biology, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, UiT The Arctic Univ. of Norway Tromsø Norway
| | - André Frainer
- Norwegian Inst. for Nature Research (NINA), Framsenteret Tromsø Norway
| | | | - Rune Knudsen
- Dept of Arctic and Marine Biology, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, UiT The Arctic Univ. of Norway Tromsø Norway
| | - Per‐Arne Amundsen
- Dept of Arctic and Marine Biology, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, UiT The Arctic Univ. of Norway Tromsø Norway
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4
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Croll JC, de Roos AM. The regulating effect of growth plasticity on the dynamics of structured populations. THEOR ECOL-NETH 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12080-022-00529-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
AbstractPlasticity is the extent to which life history processes such as growth and reproduction depend on the environment. Plasticity in individual growth varies widely between taxa. Nonetheless, little is known about the effect of plasticity in individual growth on the ecological dynamics of populations. In this article, we analyse a physiologically structured population model of a consumer population in which the individual growth rate can be varied between entirely plastic to entirely non-plastic. We derive this population level model from a dynamic energy budget model to ensure an accurate energetic coupling between ingestion, somatic maintenance, growth and reproduction within an individual. We show that the consumer population is either limited by adult fecundity or juvenile survival up to maturation, depending on the level of growth plasticity and the non-plastic individual growth rate. Under these two regimes, we also find two different types of population cycles which again arise due to fluctuation in, respectively, juvenile growth rate or adult fecundity. In the end, our model not only provides insight into the effects of growth plasticity on population dynamics, but also provides a link between the dynamics found in age- and size-structured models.
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5
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Effects of Habitat-Specific Primary Production on Fish Size, Biomass, and Production in Northern Oligotrophic Lakes. Ecosystems 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-021-00733-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
AbstractEcological theory predicts that the relative distribution of primary production across habitats influence fish size structure and biomass production. In this study, we assessed individual, population, and community-level consequences for brown trout (Salmo trutta) and Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) of variation in estimated habitat specific (benthic and pelagic) and total whole lake (GPPwhole) gross primary production in 27 northern oligotrophic lakes. We found that higher contribution of benthic primary production to GPPwhole was associated with higher community biomass and larger maximum and mean sizes of fish. At the population level, species-specific responses differed. Increased benthic primary production (GPPBenthic) correlated to higher population biomass of brown trout regardless of being alone or in sympatry, while Arctic char responded positively to pelagic primary production (GPPPelagic) in sympatric populations. In sympatric lakes, the maximum size of both species was positively related to both GPPBenthic and the benthic contribution to GPPWhole. In allopatric lakes, brown trout mean and maximum size and Arctic char mean size were positively related to the benthic proportion of GPPWhole. Our results highlight the importance of light-controlled benthic primary production for fish biomass production in oligotrophic northern lakes. Our results further suggest that consequences of ontogenetic asymmetry and niche shifts may cause the distribution of primary production across habitats to be more important than the total ecosystem primary production for fish size, population biomass, and production. Awareness of the relationships between light availability and asymmetric resource production favoring large fish and fish production may allow for cost-efficient and more informed management actions in northern oligotrophic lakes.
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6
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Säterberg T, McCann K. Detecting alternative attractors in ecosystem dynamics. Commun Biol 2021; 4:975. [PMID: 34404903 PMCID: PMC8370982 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02471-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2021] [Accepted: 06/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Dynamical systems theory suggests that ecosystems may exhibit alternative dynamical attractors. Such alternative attractors, as for example equilibria and cycles, have been found in the dynamics of experimental systems. Yet, for natural systems, where multiple biotic and abiotic factors simultaneously affect population dynamics, it is more challenging to distinguish alternative dynamical behaviors. Although recent research exemplifies that some natural systems can exhibit alternative states, a robust methodology for testing whether these constitute distinct dynamical attractors is currently lacking. Here, using attractor reconstruction techniques we develop such a test. Applications of the methodology to simulated, experimental and natural time series data, reveal that alternative dynamical behaviors are hard to distinguish if population dynamics are governed by purely stochastic processes. However, if population dynamics are brought about also by mechanisms internal to the system, alternative attractors can readily be detected. Since many natural populations display evidence of such internally driven dynamics, our approach offers a method for empirically testing whether ecosystems exhibit alternative dynamical attractors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Torbjörn Säterberg
- Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Aquatic Resources, Öregrund, Sweden.
| | - Kevin McCann
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelp, Guelph, ON, Canada
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7
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Prati S, Henriksen EH, Smalås A, Knudsen R, Klemetsen A, Sánchez-Hernández J, Amundsen PA. The effect of inter‐ and intraspecific competition on individual and population niche widths: a four‐decade study on two interacting salmonids. OIKOS 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.08375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Prati
- Dept of Arctic and Marine Biology, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, UiT The Arctic Univ. of Norway Tromsø Norway
| | - Eirik Haugstvedt Henriksen
- Dept of Arctic and Marine Biology, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, UiT The Arctic Univ. of Norway Tromsø Norway
| | - Aslak Smalås
- Dept of Arctic and Marine Biology, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, UiT The Arctic Univ. of Norway Tromsø Norway
| | - Rune Knudsen
- Dept of Arctic and Marine Biology, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, UiT The Arctic Univ. of Norway Tromsø Norway
| | - Anders Klemetsen
- Dept of Arctic and Marine Biology, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, UiT The Arctic Univ. of Norway Tromsø Norway
| | - Javier Sánchez-Hernández
- Depto de Biología, Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Univ. Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles Madrid Spain
| | - Per-Arne Amundsen
- Dept of Arctic and Marine Biology, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, UiT The Arctic Univ. of Norway Tromsø Norway
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8
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Crone EE, Schultz CB. Resilience or Catastrophe? A possible state change for monarch butterflies in western North America. Ecol Lett 2021; 24:1533-1538. [PMID: 34110069 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Revised: 04/08/2021] [Accepted: 05/02/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
In the western United States, the population of migratory monarch butterflies is on the brink of collapse, having dropped from several million butterflies in the 1980s to ~2000 butterflies in the winter of 2020-2021. At the same time, a resident (non-migratory) monarch butterfly population in urban gardens has been growing in abundance. The new resident population is not sufficient to make up for the loss of the migratory population; there are still orders of magnitude fewer butterflies now than in the recent past. The resident population also probably lacks the demographic capacity to expand its range inland during summer months. Nonetheless, the resident population may have the capacity to persist. This sudden change emphasises the extent to which environmental change can have unexpected consequences, and how quickly these changes can happen. We hope it will provoke discussion about how we define resilience and viability in changing environments.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Cheryl B Schultz
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA, USA
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9
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Dijoux S, Boukal DS. Community structure and collapses in multichannel food webs: Role of consumer body sizes and mesohabitat productivities. Ecol Lett 2021; 24:1607-1618. [PMID: 34036707 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2020] [Revised: 01/19/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Multichannel food webs are shaped by the ability of apex predators to link asymmetric energy flows in mesohabitats differing in productivity and community traits. While body size is a fundamental trait underlying life histories and demography, its implications for structuring multichannel food webs are unexplored. To fill this gap, we develop a model that links population responses to predation, and resource availability to community-level patterns, using a tri-trophic food web model with two populations of intermediate consumers and a size-selective top predator. We show that asymmetries in mesohabitat productivities and consumer body sizes drive food web structure, merging previously separate theory on apparent competition and emergent Allee effects (i.e. abrupt population collapses) of top predators. Our results yield theoretical support for empirically observed stability of asymmetric multichannel food webs and discover three novel types of emergent Allee effects involving intermediate consumers, multiple populations or multiple alternative stable states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Dijoux
- Department of Ecosystem Biology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.,Czech Academy of Sciences, Biology Centre, Institute of Entomology, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - David S Boukal
- Department of Ecosystem Biology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.,Czech Academy of Sciences, Biology Centre, Institute of Entomology, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
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10
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Toscano BJ, Rudolf VHW. Developmental Change in Predators Drives Different Community Configurations. Am Nat 2021; 197:719-731. [PMID: 33989140 DOI: 10.1086/714049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
AbstractTheoreticians who first observed alternative stable states in simple ecological models warned of grave implications for unexpected and irreversible collapses of natural systems (i.e., regime shifts). Recent ecosystem-level shifts engendering considerable economic losses have validated this concern, positioning bistability at the vanguard of coupled human-environment systems management. While the perturbations that induce regime shifts are known, the ecological forces that uphold alternative stable states are often unresolved or complex and system specific. Thus, the search continues for general mechanisms that can produce alternative stable states under realistic conditions. Integrating model predictions with long-term zooplankton community experiments, we show that the core feature of ontogenetic development, food-dependent maturation, enables a single community to reach different configurations within the same constant environment. In one configuration, predators regulate prey to foster coexistence, while in the other, prey counterintuitively exclude their predators via maturation-limiting competition. The concordance of these findings with the unique outcome and underlying mechanism of a general model provides empirical evidence that developmental change, a fundamental property of life, can support bistability of natural systems.
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11
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Stage-specific overcompensation, the hydra effect, and the failure to eradicate an invasive predator. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2003955118. [PMID: 33727416 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2003955118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
As biological invasions continue to increase globally, eradication programs have been undertaken at significant cost, often without consideration of relevant ecological theory. Theoretical fisheries models have shown that harvest can actually increase the equilibrium size of a population, and uncontrolled studies and anecdotal reports have documented population increases in response to invasive species removal (akin to fisheries harvest). Both findings may be driven by high levels of juvenile survival associated with low adult abundance, often referred to as overcompensation. Here we show that in a coastal marine ecosystem, an eradication program resulted in stage-specific overcompensation and a 30-fold, single-year increase in the population of an introduced predator. Data collected concurrently from four adjacent regional bays without eradication efforts showed no similar population increase, indicating a local and not a regional increase. Specifically, the eradication program had inadvertently reduced the control of recruitment by adults via cannibalism, thereby facilitating the population explosion. Mesocosm experiments confirmed that adult cannibalism of recruits was size-dependent and could control recruitment. Genomic data show substantial isolation of this population and implicate internal population dynamics for the increase, rather than recruitment from other locations. More broadly, this controlled experimental demonstration of stage-specific overcompensation in an aquatic system provides an important cautionary message for eradication efforts of species with limited connectivity and similar life histories.
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12
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Bellier E, Sæther BE, Engen S. Sustainable strategies for harvesting predators and prey in a fluctuating environment. Ecol Modell 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2020.109350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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13
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How intra-stage and inter-stage competition affect overcompensation in density and hydra effects in single-species, stage-structured models. THEOR ECOL-NETH 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s12080-020-00488-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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14
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Gårdmark A, Huss M. Individual variation and interactions explain food web responses to global warming. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190449. [PMID: 33131431 PMCID: PMC7662199 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding food web responses to global warming, and their consequences for conservation and management, requires knowledge on how responses vary both among and within species. Warming can reduce both species richness and biomass production. However, warming responses observed at different levels of biological organization may seem contradictory. For example, higher temperatures commonly lead to faster individual body growth but can decrease biomass production of fishes. Here we show that the key to resolve this contradiction is intraspecific variation, because (i) community dynamics emerge from interactions among individuals, and (ii) ecological interactions, physiological processes and warming effects often vary over life history. By combining insights from temperature-dependent dynamic models of simple food webs, observations over large temperature gradients and findings from short-term mesocosm and multi-decadal whole-ecosystem warming experiments, we resolve mechanisms by which warming waters can affect food webs via individual-level responses and review their empirical support. We identify a need for warming experiments on food webs manipulating population size structures to test these mechanisms. We stress that within-species variation in both body size, temperature responses and ecological interactions are key for accurate predictions and appropriate conservation efforts for fish production and food web function under a warming climate. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Integrative research perspectives on marine conservation'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Gårdmark
- Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Aquatic Resources, Skolgatan 6, SE-742 42 Öregrund, Sweden
| | - Magnus Huss
- Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Aquatic Resources, Skolgatan 6, SE-742 42 Öregrund, Sweden
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15
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de Roos AM. Effects of life history and individual development on community dynamics: A review of counterintuitive consequences. Ecol Res 2020; 35:930-946. [PMID: 33380774 PMCID: PMC7756606 DOI: 10.1111/1440-1703.12174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2020] [Revised: 05/30/2020] [Accepted: 08/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Even though individual life history is the focus of much ecological research, its importance for the dynamics and structure of ecological communities is unclear, or is it a topic of much ongoing research. In this paper I highlight the key life history traits that may lead to effects of life history or ontogeny on ecological communities. I show that asymmetries in the extent of food limitation between individuals in different life stage can give rise to an increase in efficiency with which resources are used for population growth when conditions change. This change in efficiency may result in a positive relationship between stage-specific density and mortality. The positive relationship between density and mortality in turn leads to predictions about community structure that are not only diametrically opposite to the expectations based on theory that ignores population structure but are also intuitively hard to accept. I provide a few examples that illustrate how taking into account intraspecific differences due to ontogeny radically changes the theoretical expectations regarding the possible outcomes of community dynamics. As the most compelling example I show how a so-called double-handicapped looser, that is, a consumer species that is both competitively inferior in the absence of predators and experiences higher mortality when predators are present, can nonetheless oust its opponent that it competes with for the same resource and is exposed to the same predator.
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Affiliation(s)
- André M. de Roos
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem DynamicsUniversity of AmsterdamAmsterdamNetherlands
- The Santa Fe InstituteSanta FeNew MexicoUSA
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16
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Sánchez-Hernández J. Drivers of piscivory in a globally distributed aquatic predator (brown trout): a meta-analysis. Sci Rep 2020; 10:11258. [PMID: 32647243 PMCID: PMC7347837 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-68207-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2019] [Accepted: 06/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
There is growing interest in the delineation of feeding patterns in animals, but little is known about the interaction of multiple explanatory factors across broad geographical scales. The goal of this study was to identify the factors that together determine population-level patterns in piscivory in a globally distributed aquatic predator, the brown trout (Salmo trutta). A meta-analysis of peer-reviewed studies revealed that the prevalence (frequency of occurrence, %) of piscivory increases from riverine to marine ecosystems, with fish community type and the size-structure (ontogeny) of brown trout populations being the key drivers. Thus, piscivory was related to ecosystem-specific differences in predator body size (increasing in populations with large individuals) and fish community configurations (increasing with fish species richness). Fish species richness imposes important limitations on (i.e. in low diversity scenarios) or facilitate (i.e. in high diversity scenarios) piscivory in brown trout populations, with a low prevalence expected in low-diversity fish communities. In fresh water, piscivory is higher in lentic than lotic ecosystems and, in the former, increases with latitude. Competition in multi-species systems is expected to be higher than in simpler systems because the size-structure and species composition of fish assemblages, explaining cross-ecosystem differences in piscivory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier Sánchez-Hernández
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Madrid, Spain.
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17
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Smalås A, Strøm JF, Amundsen P, Dieckmann U, Primicerio R. Climate warming is predicted to enhance the negative effects of harvesting on high‐latitude lake fish. J Appl Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Aslak Smalås
- Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics UiT – The Arctic University of Norway Tromsø Norway
| | - John F. Strøm
- Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics UiT – The Arctic University of Norway Tromsø Norway
| | - Per‐Arne Amundsen
- Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics UiT – The Arctic University of Norway Tromsø Norway
| | - Ulf Dieckmann
- Evolution and Ecology Program International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis Laxenburg Austria
- Department of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (Sokendai) Hayama Japan
| | - Raul Primicerio
- Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics UiT – The Arctic University of Norway Tromsø Norway
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18
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Nilsson J, Flink H, Tibblin P. Predator-prey role reversal may impair the recovery of declining pike populations. J Anim Ecol 2019; 88:927-939. [PMID: 30895606 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2018] [Accepted: 02/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Many fish populations have experienced declines in recent decades due to anthropogenic disturbances, such as overfishing and habitat exploitation. Despite management actions, many populations show a limited capacity to recover. This may be attributed to reversal of predator-prey roles, yet empirical evidence to that effect remains scarce. Here, we combine field and laboratory studies to investigate the interaction between pike (Esox lucius), a large keystone top predatory fish, and the small-bodied mesopredatory threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) in the Baltic Sea where pike populations have declined. Our data suggest that stickleback predation on pike larvae depletes a large proportion of the recruitment and influences the size distribution through size-selective predation, which is corroborated by a gape-limitation experiment and diet analysis of wild-captured sticklebacks. The effects of stickleback predation are present across several populations and years, and our data suggest that early arrival of sticklebacks has stronger effects on juvenile pike survival. Finally, we use data on pike gape-limitation and the size distribution of sticklebacks to illustrate the process of role reversal. These findings suggest that mesopredator behaviour can reduce recruitment of a top predator species and impair the capacity of populations to recover. This emphasizes predator-prey role reversal as an important ecological and evolutionary driver that influences the outcome of restoration and management actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas Nilsson
- Ecology and Evolution in Microbial Model Systems, EEMiS, Department of Biology and Environmental Science, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden
| | - Henrik Flink
- Ecology and Evolution in Microbial Model Systems, EEMiS, Department of Biology and Environmental Science, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden
| | - Petter Tibblin
- Ecology and Evolution in Microbial Model Systems, EEMiS, Department of Biology and Environmental Science, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden
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19
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Henriksen EH, Frainer A, Knudsen R, Kristoffersen R, Kuris AM, Lafferty KD, Amundsen P. Fish culling reduces tapeworm burden in Arctic charr by increasing parasite mortality rather than by reducing density‐dependent transmission. J Appl Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Eirik H. Henriksen
- Department of Arctic and Marine BiologyFaculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and EconomicsUiT The Arctic University of Norway Tromsø Norway
| | - André Frainer
- Norwegian College of Fishery ScienceFaculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and EconomicsUiT The Arctic University of Norway Tromsø Norway
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) Tromsø Norway
| | - Rune Knudsen
- Department of Arctic and Marine BiologyFaculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and EconomicsUiT The Arctic University of Norway Tromsø Norway
| | - Roar Kristoffersen
- Department of Arctic and Marine BiologyFaculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and EconomicsUiT The Arctic University of Norway Tromsø Norway
| | - Armand M. Kuris
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine BiologyMarine Science InstituteUC Santa Barbara Santa Barbara California
| | - Kevin D. Lafferty
- U.S. Geological SurveyWestern Ecological Research CenterMarine Science InstituteUC Santa Barbara Santa Barbara California
| | - Per‐Arne Amundsen
- Department of Arctic and Marine BiologyFaculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and EconomicsUiT The Arctic University of Norway Tromsø Norway
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20
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Lindmark M, Ohlberger J, Huss M, Gårdmark A. Size-based ecological interactions drive food web responses to climate warming. Ecol Lett 2019; 22:778-786. [PMID: 30816635 PMCID: PMC6849876 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2018] [Revised: 11/28/2018] [Accepted: 01/18/2019] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Predicting climate change impacts on animal communities requires knowledge of how physiological effects are mediated by ecological interactions. Food-dependent growth and within-species size variation depend on temperature and affect community dynamics through feedbacks between individual performance and population size structure. Still, we know little about how warming affects these feedbacks. Using a dynamic stage-structured biomass model with food-, size- and temperature-dependent life history processes, we analyse how temperature affects coexistence, stability and size structure in a tri-trophic food chain, and find that warming effects on community stability depend on ecological interactions. Predator biomass densities generally decline with warming - gradually or through collapses - depending on which consumer life stage predators feed on. Collapses occur when warming induces alternative stable states via Allee effects. This suggests that predator persistence in warmer climates may be lower than previously acknowledged and that effects of warming on food web stability largely depend on species interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Max Lindmark
- Department of Aquatic Resources, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Institute of Coastal Research, Skolgatan 6, Öregrund, 742 42, Sweden
| | - Jan Ohlberger
- School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences (SAFS), University of Washington, Box 355020, Seattle, WA, 98195-5020, USA
| | - Magnus Huss
- Department of Aquatic Resources, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skolgatan 6, SE-742 42, Öregrund, Sweden
| | - Anna Gårdmark
- Department of Aquatic Resources, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skolgatan 6, SE-742 42, Öregrund, Sweden
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21
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Abstract
The size or stage of interacting individuals is known to affect the outcome of ecological interactions and can have important consequences for population dynamics. This is also true for intraguild predation (the killing and eating of potential competitors), where the size or ontogenetic stage of an individual determines whether it is the intraguild predator or the intraguild prey. Studying size- or stage-specific interactions is therefore important, but can be challenging in species with complex life histories. Here, we investigated predatory interactions of all feeding stages of the two predatory mite species Neoseiulus californicus and Phytoseiulus macropilis, both of which have complex life cycles, typical for predatory arthropods. Populations of these two species compete for two-spotted spider mites, their prey. We evaluated both the capacity to kill stages of the other predator species and the capacity to benefit from feeding on these stages, both prerequisites for the occurrence of intraguild predation. Ontogeny played a critical role in the occurrence of intraguild predation. Whereas the juveniles of P. macropilis developed from larva until adulthood when feeding on N. californicus eggs, interestingly, adult female P. macropilis did not feed on the smaller stages of the other species. We furthermore show that intraguild predation was reciprocal: both juveniles and adult females of N. californicus preyed on the smallest stages of P. macropilis. These results suggest that a proper analysis of the interactions between pairs of species involved in intraguild predation should start with an inventory of the interactions among all ontogenetic stages of these species.
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22
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Eloranta AP, Finstad AG, Helland IP, Ugedal O, Power M. Hydropower impacts on reservoir fish populations are modified by environmental variation. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2018; 618:313-322. [PMID: 29131999 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.10.268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2017] [Revised: 10/25/2017] [Accepted: 10/26/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Global transition towards renewable energy production has increased the demand for new and more flexible hydropower operations. Before management and stakeholders can make informed choices on potential mitigations, it is essential to understand how the hydropower reservoir ecosystems respond to water level regulation (WLR) impacts that are likely modified by the reservoirs' abiotic and biotic characteristics. Yet, most reservoir studies have been case-specific, which hampers large-scale planning, evaluation and mitigation actions across various reservoir ecosystems. Here, we investigated how the effect of the magnitude, frequency and duration of WLR on fish populations varies along environmental gradients. We used biomass, density, size, condition and maturation of brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) in Norwegian hydropower reservoirs as a measure of ecosystem response, and tested for interacting effects of WLR and lake morphometry, climatic conditions and fish community structure. Our results showed that environmental drivers modified the responses of brown trout populations to different WLR patterns. Specifically, brown trout biomass and density increased with WLR magnitude particularly in large and complex-shaped reservoirs, but the positive relationships were only evident in reservoirs with no other fish species. Moreover, increasing WLR frequency was associated with increased brown trout density but decreased condition of individuals within the populations. WLR duration had no significant impacts on brown trout, and the mean weight and maturation length of brown trout showed no significant response to any WLR metrics. Our study demonstrates that local environmental characteristics and the biotic community strongly modify the hydropower-induced WLR impacts on reservoir fishes and ecosystems, and that there are no one-size-fits-all solutions to mitigate environmental impacts. This knowledge is vital for sustainable planning, management and mitigation of hydropower operations that need to meet the increasing worldwide demand for both renewable energy and ecosystem services delivered by freshwaters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antti P Eloranta
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), P.O. Box 5685 Torgard, NO-7485 Trondheim, Norway.
| | - Anders G Finstad
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), P.O. Box 5685 Torgard, NO-7485 Trondheim, Norway; Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Natural History, NTNU University Museum, Erling Skakkes gate 47A, NO-7013 Trondheim, Norway.
| | - Ingeborg P Helland
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), P.O. Box 5685 Torgard, NO-7485 Trondheim, Norway.
| | - Ola Ugedal
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), P.O. Box 5685 Torgard, NO-7485 Trondheim, Norway.
| | - Michael Power
- Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
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23
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Soudijn FH, de Roos AM. Predator Persistence through Variability of Resource Productivity in Tritrophic Systems. Am Nat 2017; 190:844-853. [PMID: 29166154 DOI: 10.1086/694119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
The trophic structure of species communities depends on the energy transfer between trophic levels. Primary productivity varies strongly through time, challenging the persistence of species at higher trophic levels. Yet resource variability has mostly been studied in systems with only one or two trophic levels. We test the effect of variability in resource productivity in a tritrophic model system including a resource, a size-structured consumer, and a size-specific predator. The model complies with fundamental principles of mass conservation and the body-size dependence of individual-level energetics and predator-prey interactions. Surprisingly, we find that resource variability may promote predator persistence. The positive effect of variability on the predator arises through periods with starvation mortality of juvenile prey, which reduces the intraspecific competition in the prey population. With increasing variability in productivity and starvation mortality in the juvenile prey, the prey availability increases in the size range preferred by the predator. The positive effect of prey mortality on the trophic transfer efficiency depends on the biologically realistic consideration of body size-dependent and food-dependent functions for growth and reproduction in our model. Our findings show that variability may promote the trophic transfer efficiency, indicating that environmental variability may sustain species at higher trophic levels in natural ecosystems.
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24
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Lindmark M, Huss M, Ohlberger J, Gårdmark A. Temperature-dependent body size effects determine population responses to climate warming. Ecol Lett 2017; 21:181-189. [PMID: 29161762 DOI: 10.1111/ele.12880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2017] [Revised: 07/23/2017] [Accepted: 10/13/2017] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Current understanding of animal population responses to rising temperatures is based on the assumption that biological rates such as metabolism, which governs fundamental ecological processes, scale independently with body size and temperature, despite empirical evidence for interactive effects. Here, we investigate the consequences of interactive temperature- and size scaling of vital rates for the dynamics of populations experiencing warming using a stage-structured consumer-resource model. We show that interactive scaling alters population and stage-specific responses to rising temperatures, such that warming can induce shifts in population regulation and stage-structure, influence community structure and govern population responses to mortality. Analysing experimental data for 20 fish species, we found size-temperature interactions in intraspecific scaling of metabolic rate to be common. Given the evidence for size-temperature interactions and the ubiquity of size structure in animal populations, we argue that accounting for size-specific temperature effects is pivotal for understanding how warming affects animal populations and communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Max Lindmark
- Department of Aquatic Resources, Institute of Coastal Research, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skolgatan 6, SE-742 42, Öregrund, Sweden
| | - Magnus Huss
- Department of Aquatic Resources, Institute of Coastal Research, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skolgatan 6, SE-742 42, Öregrund, Sweden
| | - Jan Ohlberger
- School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Anna Gårdmark
- Department of Aquatic Resources, Institute of Coastal Research, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skolgatan 6, SE-742 42, Öregrund, Sweden
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25
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Ecological speciation in a generalist consumer expands the trophic niche of a dominant predator. Sci Rep 2017; 7:8765. [PMID: 28821736 PMCID: PMC5562900 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-08263-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2017] [Accepted: 07/10/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Ecological speciation – whereby an ancestral founder species diversifies to fill vacant niches – is a phenomenon characteristic of newly formed ecosystems. Despite such ubiquity, ecosystem-level effects of such divergence remain poorly understood. Here, we compared the trophic niche of European whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) and their predators in a series of contrasting subarctic lakes where this species had either diversified into four ecomorphologically distinct morphs or instead formed monomorphic populations. We found that the trophic niche of whitefish was almost three times larger in the polymorphic than in the monomorphic lakes, due to an increase in intraspecific specialisation. This trophic niche expansion was mirrored in brown trout (Salmo trutta), a major predator of whitefish. This represents amongst the first evidence for ecological speciation directly altering the trophic niche of a predator. We suggest such mechanisms may be a common and important – though presently overlooked – factor regulating trophic interactions in diverse ecosystems globally.
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26
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Cressler CE, Bengtson S, Nelson WA. Unexpected Nongenetic Individual Heterogeneity and Trait Covariance in Daphnia and Its Consequences for Ecological and Evolutionary Dynamics. Am Nat 2017; 190:E13-E27. [DOI: 10.1086/691779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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27
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Karkman A, Lehtimäki J, Ruokolainen L. The ecology of human microbiota: dynamics and diversity in health and disease. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2017; 1399:78-92. [DOI: 10.1111/nyas.13326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2016] [Revised: 01/19/2017] [Accepted: 02/02/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Antti Karkman
- Metapopulation Research Centre, Department of Biosciences; University of Helsinki; Helsinki Finland
| | - Jenni Lehtimäki
- Metapopulation Research Centre, Department of Biosciences; University of Helsinki; Helsinki Finland
| | - Lasse Ruokolainen
- Metapopulation Research Centre, Department of Biosciences; University of Helsinki; Helsinki Finland
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28
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Resource Partitioning in Food, Space and Time between Arctic Charr (Salvelinus alpinus), Brown Trout (Salmo trutta) and European Whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) at the Southern Edge of Their Continuous Coexistence. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0170582. [PMID: 28122061 PMCID: PMC5266286 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2016] [Accepted: 01/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Arctic charr and European whitefish are considered to be strong competitors in lakes, with the latter usually being the superior species. However, high niche plasticity and lake morphometry may suggestively facilitate resource partitioning and coexistence between charr and whitefish. Here, we explore the trophic niche utilization (diet and habitat use) of charr and whitefish co-occurring with brown trout in the deep and oligotrophic Lake Fyresvatnet, southern Norway (59°05’N, 8°10’E). Using CPUE, stomach contents and stable isotope analyses, a distinct resource partitioning was revealed between brown trout and the other two species. Brown trout typically occupied the littoral zone, feeding on benthic invertebrates, surface insects and small-sized whitefish. In contrast, charr and whitefish were predominantly zooplanktivorous, but diverged somewhat in habitat utilization as charr shifted seasonally between the profundal and the littoral zone, whereas whitefish were found in the upper water layers (littoral and pelagic habitats). Accordingly, the stable isotope values of carbon (δ13C) reflected a pelagic orientated prey resource use for both charr and whitefish, whereas brown trout had elevated carbon and nitrogen (δ15N) signatures that reflected their benthivore and piscivore diet, respectively. The findings suggest that charr may not rely upon the profundal zone as a feeding habitat but as a refuge area, and may coexist with whitefish if a third competitive and predatory species like brown trout co-occur in the lake. The study indicates that a general high habitat plasticity of Arctic charr may be essential in the presently observed coexistence with a competitively superior fish species like whitefish, and that a third fish species like brown trout may facilitate this particular fish community structure.
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29
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Approximation of a physiologically structured population model with seasonal reproduction by a stage-structured biomass model. THEOR ECOL-NETH 2017; 10:73-90. [PMID: 32226567 PMCID: PMC7089643 DOI: 10.1007/s12080-016-0309-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2015] [Accepted: 08/09/2016] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Seasonal reproduction causes, due to the periodic inflow of young small individuals in the population, seasonal fluctuations in population size distributions. Seasonal reproduction furthermore implies that the energetic body condition of reproducing individuals varies over time. Through these mechanisms, seasonal reproduction likely affects population and community dynamics. While seasonal reproduction is often incorporated in population models using discrete time equations, these are not suitable for size-structured populations in which individuals grow continuously between reproductive events. Size-structured population models that consider seasonal reproduction, an explicit growing season and individual-level energetic processes exist in the form of physiologically structured population models. However, modeling large species ensembles with these models is virtually impossible. In this study, we therefore develop a simpler model framework by approximating a cohort-based size-structured population model with seasonal reproduction to a stage-structured biomass model of four ODEs. The model translates individual-level assumptions about food ingestion, bioenergetics, growth, investment in reproduction, storage of reproductive energy, and seasonal reproduction in stage-based processes at the population level. Numerical analysis of the two models shows similar values for the average biomass of juveniles, adults, and resource unless large-amplitude cycles with a single cohort dominating the population occur. The model framework can be extended by adding species or multiple juvenile and/or adult stages. This opens up possibilities to investigate population dynamics of interacting species while incorporating ontogenetic development and complex life histories in combination with seasonal reproduction.
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30
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Cosme M, Ramireddy E, Franken P, Schmülling T, Wurst S. Shoot- and root-borne cytokinin influences arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. MYCORRHIZA 2016; 26:709-20. [PMID: 27193443 PMCID: PMC5034000 DOI: 10.1007/s00572-016-0706-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2016] [Accepted: 04/24/2016] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
The arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis is functionally important for the nutrition and growth of most terrestrial plants. Nearly all phytohormones are employed by plants to regulate the symbiosis with AM fungi, but the regulatory role of cytokinin (CK) is not well understood. Here, we used transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) with a root-specific or constitutive expression of CK-degrading CKX genes and the corresponding wild-type to investigate whether a lowered content of CK in roots or in both roots and shoots influences the interaction with the AM fungus Rhizophagus irregularis. Our data indicates that shoot CK has a positive impact on AM fungal development in roots and on the root transcript level of an AM-responsive phosphate transporter gene (NtPT4). A reduced CK content in roots caused shoot and root growth depression following AM colonization, while neither the uptake of phosphorus or nitrogen nor the root transcript levels of NtPT4 were significantly affected. This suggests that root CK may restrict the C availability from the roots to the fungus thus averting parasitism by AM fungi. Taken together, our study indicates that shoot- and root-borne CK have distinct roles in AM symbiosis. We propose a model illustrating how plants may employ CK to regulate nutrient exchange with the ubiquitous AM fungi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Cosme
- Functional Biodiversity, Dahlem Centre of Plant Sciences, Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Straße 1-3, 14195, Berlin, Germany.
- Department of Plant Propagation, Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops, Kühnhäuser Straße 101, 99090, Erfurt-Kühnhausen, Germany.
- Plant-Microbe Interactions, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, PO Box 800.56, 3508 TB, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
| | - Eswarayya Ramireddy
- Applied Genetics, Dahlem Center of Plant Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin, Albrecht-Thaer-Weg 6, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Philipp Franken
- Department of Plant Propagation, Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops, Kühnhäuser Straße 101, 99090, Erfurt-Kühnhausen, Germany
| | - Thomas Schmülling
- Applied Genetics, Dahlem Center of Plant Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin, Albrecht-Thaer-Weg 6, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Susanne Wurst
- Functional Biodiversity, Dahlem Centre of Plant Sciences, Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Straße 1-3, 14195, Berlin, Germany
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31
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Stier AC, Samhouri JF, Novak M, Marshall KN, Ward EJ, Holt RD, Levin PS. Ecosystem context and historical contingency in apex predator recoveries. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2016; 2:e1501769. [PMID: 27386535 PMCID: PMC4928970 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1501769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2015] [Accepted: 04/30/2016] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Habitat loss, overexploitation, and numerous other stressors have caused global declines in apex predators. This "trophic downgrading" has generated widespread concern because of the fundamental role that apex predators can play in ecosystem functioning, disease regulation, and biodiversity maintenance. In attempts to combat declines, managers have conducted reintroductions, imposed stricter harvest regulations, and implemented protected areas. We suggest that full recovery of viable apex predator populations is currently the exception rather than the rule. We argue that, in addition to well-known considerations, such as continued exploitation and slow life histories, there are several underappreciated factors that complicate predator recoveries. These factors include three challenges. First, a priori identification of the suite of trophic interactions, such as resource limitation and competition that will influence recovery can be difficult. Second, defining and accomplishing predator recovery in the context of a dynamic ecosystem requires an appreciation of the timing of recovery, which can determine the relative density of apex predators and other predators and therefore affect competitive outcomes. Third, successful recovery programs require designing adaptive sequences of management strategies that embrace key environmental and species interactions as they emerge. Consideration of recent research on food web modules, alternative stable states, and community assembly offer important insights for predator recovery efforts and restoration ecology more generally. Foremost among these is the importance of a social-ecological perspective in facilitating a long-lasting predator restoration while avoiding unintended consequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrian C. Stier
- National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, 735 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101, USA
- School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, 1122 Northeast Boat Street, Seattle, WA 98105, USA
| | - Jameal F. Samhouri
- Conservation Biology Division, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, WA 98112, USA
| | - Mark Novak
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
| | - Kristin N. Marshall
- Conservation Biology Division, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, WA 98112, USA
| | - Eric J. Ward
- Conservation Biology Division, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, WA 98112, USA
| | - Robert D. Holt
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Phillip S. Levin
- Conservation Biology Division, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, WA 98112, USA
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32
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Nisbet RM, Martin BT, de Roos AM. Integrating ecological insight derived from individual-based simulations and physiologically structured population models. Ecol Modell 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2015.08.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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33
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Brose U, Blanchard JL, Eklöf A, Galiana N, Hartvig M, R Hirt M, Kalinkat G, Nordström MC, O'Gorman EJ, Rall BC, Schneider FD, Thébault E, Jacob U. Predicting the consequences of species loss using size-structured biodiversity approaches. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2016; 92:684-697. [PMID: 26756137 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2014] [Revised: 12/03/2015] [Accepted: 12/14/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the consequences of species loss in complex ecological communities is one of the great challenges in current biodiversity research. For a long time, this topic has been addressed by traditional biodiversity experiments. Most of these approaches treat species as trait-free, taxonomic units characterizing communities only by species number without accounting for species traits. However, extinctions do not occur at random as there is a clear correlation between extinction risk and species traits. In this review, we assume that large species will be most threatened by extinction and use novel allometric and size-spectrum concepts that include body mass as a primary species trait at the levels of populations and individuals, respectively, to re-assess three classic debates on the relationships between biodiversity and (i) food-web structural complexity, (ii) community dynamic stability, and (iii) ecosystem functioning. Contrasting current expectations, size-structured approaches suggest that the loss of large species, that typically exploit most resource species, may lead to future food webs that are less interwoven and more structured by chains of interactions and compartments. The disruption of natural body-mass distributions maintaining food-web stability may trigger avalanches of secondary extinctions and strong trophic cascades with expected knock-on effects on the functionality of the ecosystems. Therefore, we argue that it is crucial to take into account body size as a species trait when analysing the consequences of biodiversity loss for natural ecosystems. Applying size-structured approaches provides an integrative ecological concept that enables a better understanding of each species' unique role across communities and the causes and consequences of biodiversity loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ulrich Brose
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.,Faculty of Biology and Pharmacy, Institute of Ecology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07743, Jena, Germany
| | - Julia L Blanchard
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies and Centre for Marine Socioecology, University of Tasmania, 20 Castray Esplanade, Battery Point TAS 7004, Australia
| | - Anna Eklöf
- Theoretical Biology, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, Linköping University, SE-581 83, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Nuria Galiana
- Ecological Networks and Global Change Group, Experimental Ecology Station, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 09200, Moulis, France
| | - Martin Hartvig
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, DK-2100, Copenhagen, Denmark.,National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2920, Charlottenlund, Denmark.,Systemic Conservation Biology Group, J.F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, Georg-August University of Göttingen, 37073, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Myriam R Hirt
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.,Faculty of Biology and Pharmacy, Institute of Ecology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07743, Jena, Germany
| | - Gregor Kalinkat
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Fish Ecology and Evolution, Eawag, 6047, Kastanienbaum, Switzerland
| | - Marie C Nordström
- Environmental and Marine Biology, Åbo Akademi University, FI-20520, Åbo, Finland
| | - Eoin J O'Gorman
- Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7PY, UK
| | - Björn C Rall
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.,Faculty of Biology and Pharmacy, Institute of Ecology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07743, Jena, Germany
| | - Florian D Schneider
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution, Université Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, CC065, 34095, Montpellier Cedex 05, France
| | - Elisa Thébault
- Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences - Paris, UMR 7618 (UPMC, CNRS, IRD, INRA, UPEC, Paris Diderot), Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Ute Jacob
- Department of Biology, Institute for Hydrobiology and Fisheries Science, Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability (CEN), KlimaCampus, University of Hamburg, 22767, Hamburg, Germany
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34
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Jørgensen C, Enberg K, Mangel M. Modelling and interpreting fish bioenergetics: a role for behaviour, life-history traits and survival trade-offs. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2016; 88:389-402. [PMID: 26768979 PMCID: PMC4722850 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.12834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2015] [Accepted: 10/02/2015] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Bioenergetics is used as the mechanistic foundation of many models of fishes. As the context of a model gradually extends beyond pure bioenergetics to include behaviour, life-history traits and function and performance of the entire organism, so does the need for complementing bioenergetic measurements with trade-offs, particularly those dealing with survival. Such a broadening of focus revitalized and expanded the domain of behavioural ecology in the 1980s. This review makes the case that a similar change of perspective is required for physiology to contribute to the types of predictions society currently demands, e.g. regarding climate change and other anthropogenic stressors.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Jørgensen
- Uni Research and Hjort Centre for Marine Ecosystem DynamicsP. O. Box 7810, 5020, Bergen, Norway
| | - K Enberg
- Institute of Marine Research and Hjort Centre for Marine Ecosystem DynamicsP. O. Box 1870 Nordnes, 5817, Bergen, Norway
| | - M Mangel
- Center for Stock Assessment Research, University of California Santa CruzSanta Cruz, CA, 95064, U.S.A.
- Department of Biology, University of BergenP. O. Box 7803, 5020, Bergen, Norway
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Bahlai CA, van der Werf W, O'Neal M, Hemerik L, Landis DA. Shifts in dynamic regime of an invasive lady beetle are linked to the invasion and insecticidal management of its prey. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2015; 25:1807-1818. [PMID: 26591447 DOI: 10.1890/14-2022.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
The spread and impact of invasive species may vary over time in relation to changes in the species itself, the biological community of which it is part, or external controls on the system. We investigate whether there have been changes in dynamic regimes over the last 20 years of two invasive species in the midwestern United States, the multicolored Asian lady beetle Harmonia axyridis and the soybean aphid Aphis glycines. We show by model selection that after its 1993 invasion into the American Midwest, the year-to-year population dynamics of H. axyridis were initially governed by a logistic rule supporting gradual rise to a stable carrying capacity. After invasion of the soybean aphid in 2000, food resources at the landscape level became abundant, supporting a higher year-to-year growth rate and a higher but unstable carrying capacity, with two-year cycles in both aphid and lady beetle abundance as a consequence. During 2005-2007, farmers in the Midwest progressively increased their use of insecticides for managing A. glycines, combining prophylactic seed treatment with curative spraying based on thresholds. This human intervention dramatically reduced the soybean aphid as a major food resource for H. axyridis at landscape level and corresponded to a reverse shift towards the original logistic rule for year-to-year dynamics. Thus, we document a short episode of major predator-prey fluctuations in an important agricultural system resulting from two biological invasions that were apparently damped by widespread insecticide use. Recent advances in development of plant resistance to A. glycines in soybeans may mitigate the need for pesticidal control and achieve the same stabilization of pest and predator populations at lower cost and environmental burden.
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Skoglund S, Siwertsson A, Amundsen PA, Knudsen R. Morphological divergence between three Arctic charr morphs - the significance of the deep-water environment. Ecol Evol 2015; 5:3114-29. [PMID: 26357540 PMCID: PMC4559054 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2015] [Revised: 05/18/2015] [Accepted: 05/19/2015] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Morphological divergence was evident among three sympatric morphs of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus (L.)) that are ecologically diverged along the shallow-, deep-water resource axis in a subarctic postglacial lake (Norway). The two deep-water (profundal) spawning morphs, a benthivore (PB-morph) and a piscivore (PP-morph), have evolved under identical abiotic conditions with constant low light and temperature levels in their deep-water habitat, and were morphologically most similar. However, they differed in important head traits (e.g., eye and mouth size) related to their different diet specializations. The small-sized PB-morph had a paedomorphic appearance with a blunt head shape, large eyes, and a deep body shape adapted to their profundal lifestyle feeding on submerged benthos from soft, deep-water sediments. The PP-morph had a robust head, large mouth with numerous teeth, and an elongated body shape strongly related to their piscivorous behavior. The littoral spawning omnivore morph (LO-morph) predominantly utilizes the shallow benthic–pelagic habitat and food resources. Compared to the deep-water morphs, the LO-morph had smaller head relative to body size. The LO-morph exhibited traits typical for both shallow-water benthic feeding (e.g., large body depths and small eyes) and planktivorous feeding in the pelagic habitat (e.g., streamlined body shape and small mouth). The development of morphological differences within the same deep-water habitat for the PB- and PP-morphs highlights the potential of biotic factors and ecological interactions to promote further divergence in the evolution of polymorphism in a tentative incipient speciation process. The diversity of deep-water charr in this study represents a novelty in the Arctic charr polymorphism as a truly deep-water piscivore morph has to our knowledge not been described elsewhere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sigrid Skoglund
- Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, University of Tromsø N-9037, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Anna Siwertsson
- Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, University of Tromsø N-9037, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Per-Arne Amundsen
- Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, University of Tromsø N-9037, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Rune Knudsen
- Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, University of Tromsø N-9037, Tromsø, Norway
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Byström P, Bergström U, Hjälten A, Ståhl S, Jonsson D, Olsson J. Declining coastal piscivore populations in the Baltic Sea: Where and when do sticklebacks matter? AMBIO 2015; 44 Suppl 3:462-471. [PMID: 26022328 PMCID: PMC4447698 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-015-0665-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Intraguild predation interactions make fish communities prone to exhibit alternative stable states with either piscivore or prey fish dominance. In the Baltic Sea, local declines of coastal piscivores like perch (Perca fluviatilis) have been observed to coincide with high densities of sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Mechanisms behind this shift between piscivore and stickleback dominance were studied both experimentally and in field. Results showed that predation by sticklebacks has a strong negative effect on perch larvae survival, but this effect rapidly decreases with increasing perch size, likely due to gape limitations and digestion constraints in sticklebacks. Large spatial and temporal variations in patterns of stickleback migration into perch spawning sites were observed. Whether or not high density of sticklebacks will cause declines in coastal piscivore populations is suggested to depend on the availability of spawning sites in which sticklebacks do not migrate into or arrive late in the reproduction season of coastal piscivores.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pär Byström
- />Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Ulf Bergström
- />Department of Aquatic Resources, Institute of Coastal Research, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skolgatan 6, 742 42 Öregrund, Sweden
| | - Alexander Hjälten
- />Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Sofie Ståhl
- />Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden
| | - David Jonsson
- />County Administrative Board of Västernorrland, 871 86 Härnösand, Sweden
| | - Jens Olsson
- />Department of Aquatic Resources, Institute of Coastal Research, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skolgatan 6, 742 42 Öregrund, Sweden
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Broadway KJ, Pyron M, Gammon JR, Murry BA. Shift in a large river fish assemblage: body-size and trophic structure dynamics. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0124954. [PMID: 25902144 PMCID: PMC4406865 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0124954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2015] [Accepted: 03/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
As the intensity and speed of environmental change increase at both local and global scales it is imperative that we gain a better understanding of the ecological implications of community shifts. While there has been substantial progress toward understanding the drivers and subsequent responses of community change (e.g. lake trophic state), the ecological impacts of food web changes are far less understood. We analyzed Wabash River fish assemblage data collected from 1974-2008, to evaluate temporal variation in body-size structure and functional group composition. Two parameters derived from annual community size-spectra were our major response variables: (1) the regression slope is an index of ecological efficiency and predator-prey biomass ratios, and (2) spectral elevation (regression midpoint height) is a proxy for food web capacity. We detected a large assemblage shift, over at least a seven year period, defined by dramatic changes in abundance (measured as catch-per-unit-effort) of the dominant functional feeding groups among two time periods; from an assemblage dominated by planktivore-omnivores to benthic invertivores. There was a concurrent increase in ecological efficiency (slopes increased over time) following the shift associated with an increase in large-bodied low trophic level fish. Food web capacity remained relatively stable with no clear temporal trends. Thus, increased ecological efficiency occurred simultaneous to a compensatory response that shifted biomass among functional feeding groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle J. Broadway
- Institute for Great Lakes Research, Biology Dept., Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI 48858, United States of America
| | - Mark Pyron
- Department of Biology, Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47306, United States of America
| | - James R. Gammon
- Department of Biology, DePauw University, Greencastle, IN 46135, United States of America
| | - Brent A. Murry
- Institute for Great Lakes Research, Biology Dept., Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI 48858, United States of America
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Ontogenetic asymmetry modulates population biomass production and response to harvest. Nat Commun 2015; 6:6441. [PMID: 25737320 PMCID: PMC4366502 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2013] [Accepted: 01/29/2015] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Patterns in biomass production are determined by resource input (productivity) and trophic transfer efficiency. At fixed resource input, variation in consumer biomass production has been related to food quality, metabolic type and diversity among species. In contrast, intraspecific variation in individual body size because of ontogenetic development, which characterizes the overwhelming majority of taxa, has been largely neglected. Here we show experimentally in a long-term multigenerational study that reallocating constant resource input in a two-stage consumer system from an equal resource delivery to juveniles and adults to an adult-biased resource delivery is sufficient to cause more than a doubling of total consumer biomass. We discuss how such changes in consumer stage-specific resource allocation affect the likelihood for alternative stable states in harvested populations as a consequence of stage-specific overcompensation in consumer biomass and thereby the risk of catastrophic collapses in exploited populations. The effect of intraspecific body size variation on the efficiency with which energy is transferred between trophic levels is not well understood. Here, Reichstein et al. show that biasing resource delivery toward less efficient consumer life stages can lead to a doubling of consumer biomass.
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Kuhn JA, Kristoffersen R, Knudsen R, Jakobsen J, Marcogliese DJ, Locke SA, Primicerio R, Amundsen PA. Parasite communities of two three-spined stickleback populations in subarctic Norway—effects of a small spatial-scale host introduction. Parasitol Res 2015; 114:1327-39. [DOI: 10.1007/s00436-015-4309-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2014] [Accepted: 01/07/2015] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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Gårdmark A, Casini M, Huss M, van Leeuwen A, Hjelm J, Persson L, de Roos AM. Regime shifts in exploited marine food webs: detecting mechanisms underlying alternative stable states using size-structured community dynamics theory. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2015; 370:20130262. [PMCID: PMC4247399 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2013.0262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Many marine ecosystems have undergone ‘regime shifts’, i.e. abrupt reorganizations across trophic levels. Establishing whether these constitute shifts between alternative stable states is of key importance for the prospects of ecosystem recovery and for management. We show how mechanisms underlying alternative stable states caused by predator–prey interactions can be revealed in field data, using analyses guided by theory on size-structured community dynamics. This is done by combining data on individual performance (such as growth and fecundity) with information on population size and prey availability. We use Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and their prey in the Baltic Sea as an example to discuss and distinguish two types of mechanisms, ‘cultivation-depensation’ and ‘overcompensation’, that can cause alternative stable states preventing the recovery of overexploited piscivorous fish populations. Importantly, the type of mechanism can be inferred already from changes in the predators' body growth in different life stages. Our approach can thus be readily applied to monitored stocks of piscivorous fish species, for which this information often can be assembled. Using this tool can help resolve the causes of catastrophic collapses in marine predatory–prey systems and guide fisheries managers on how to successfully restore collapsed piscivorous fish stocks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Gårdmark
- Department of Aquatic Resources, Institute of Coastal Research, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skolgatan 6, Öregrund 742 42, Sweden
| | - Michele Casini
- Department of Aquatic Resources, Institute of Marine Research, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Turistgatan 5, Lysekil 453 30, Sweden
| | - Magnus Huss
- Department of Aquatic Resources, Institute of Coastal Research, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skolgatan 6, Öregrund 742 42, Sweden
| | - Anieke van Leeuwen
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, 106A Guyot Hall, Princeton, NJ 8544–2016, USA
| | - Joakim Hjelm
- Department of Aquatic Resources, Institute of Marine Research, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Turistgatan 5, Lysekil 453 30, Sweden
| | - Lennart Persson
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Umeå University, Umeå 901 87, Sweden
| | - André M. de Roos
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, PO Box 94248, Amsterdam 1090 GE, The Netherlands
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Brodersen J, Seehausen O. Why evolutionary biologists should get seriously involved in ecological monitoring and applied biodiversity assessment programs. Evol Appl 2014; 7:968-83. [PMID: 25553061 PMCID: PMC4231589 DOI: 10.1111/eva.12215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2014] [Accepted: 08/17/2014] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
While ecological monitoring and biodiversity assessment programs are widely implemented and relatively well developed to survey and monitor the structure and dynamics of populations and communities in many ecosystems, quantitative assessment and monitoring of genetic and phenotypic diversity that is important to understand evolutionary dynamics is only rarely integrated. As a consequence, monitoring programs often fail to detect changes in these key components of biodiversity until after major loss of diversity has occurred. The extensive efforts in ecological monitoring have generated large data sets of unique value to macro-scale and long-term ecological research, but the insights gained from such data sets could be multiplied by the inclusion of evolutionary biological approaches. We argue that the lack of process-based evolutionary thinking in ecological monitoring means a significant loss of opportunity for research and conservation. Assessment of genetic and phenotypic variation within and between species needs to be fully integrated to safeguard biodiversity and the ecological and evolutionary dynamics in natural ecosystems. We illustrate our case with examples from fishes and conclude with examples of ongoing monitoring programs and provide suggestions on how to improve future quantitative diversity surveys.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakob Brodersen
- Department of Fish Ecology and Evolution, EAWAG Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Center for Ecology, Evolution and BiogeochemistryKastanienbaum, Switzerland
| | - Ole Seehausen
- Department of Fish Ecology and Evolution, EAWAG Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Center for Ecology, Evolution and BiogeochemistryKastanienbaum, Switzerland
- Division of Aquatic Ecology and Evolution, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of BernBern, Switzerland
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43
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Schröder A, van Leeuwen A, Cameron TC. When less is more: positive population-level effects of mortality. Trends Ecol Evol 2014; 29:614-24. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2014.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2014] [Revised: 08/22/2014] [Accepted: 08/22/2014] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Winemiller KO, Montaña CG, Roelke DL, Cotner JB, Montoya JV, Sanchez L, Castillo MM, Layman CA. Pulsing hydrology determines top-down control of basal resources in a tropical river–floodplain ecosystem. ECOL MONOGR 2014. [DOI: 10.1890/13-1822.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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45
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Boukal DS, Dieckmann U, Enberg K, Heino M, Jørgensen C. Life-history implications of the allometric scaling of growth. J Theor Biol 2014; 359:199-207. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2014.05.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2013] [Revised: 04/29/2014] [Accepted: 05/15/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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Gutierrez MF, Negro CL. Predator-prey imbalances due to a pesticide: density and applicability timing as determining factors for experimental assessments. ECOTOXICOLOGY (LONDON, ENGLAND) 2014; 23:1210-1219. [PMID: 24903805 DOI: 10.1007/s10646-014-1264-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/21/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Predator-prey relationships are determining factors in sustaining community structure but xenobiotics, including pesticides, have the potential to alter them, causing imbalances at the ecosystem level. Although invertebrate predation on zooplankton is of high importance in shallow lakes, there is still little information regarding disturbances on this trophic interaction. This work assessed the potential effects of a chlorpyrifos-based pesticide (CLP) on the interaction between prawns Macrobrachium borellii and cladocerans Ceriodaphnia dubia, taking into account prey densities, specific time of exposure and contamination level. The analysis was focused on the specific sensitivity of both species and, especially, on the predation rate of M. borellii on C. dubia. The latter was evaluated through different treatments that combined predator and/or prey exposure to the insecticide, before (lapse of 12 h) or during the interaction. Under low prey density, when prawns were previously exposed to the insecticide, their consumption rate was lower than that of controls. Conversely, when cladocerans or both species were previously exposed, the prawns' feeding rate was higher. Under high prey density, there were no substantial differences among treatments. Comparatively, cladocerans were significantly more consumed when the exposure of both species was performed before rather than during the interaction. From the results obtained, it can be assumed that the trophic interaction under study is sensitive to CLP and that individual density and specific time of exposure are important variables to be considered in similar studies in order to obtain realistic results.
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47
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Huss M, de Roos AM, Van Leeuwen A, Gårdmark A. Facilitation of fisheries by natural predators depends on life history of shared prey. OIKOS 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.00839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Magnus Huss
- Dept of Aquatic Resources; Inst. of Coastal Research Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences; Skolgatan 6 SE-742 42 Öregrund Sweden
| | - André M. de Roos
- Inst. for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, Univ. of Amsterdam; PO Box 94248, NL-1090 GE Amsterdam the Netherlands
| | - Anieke Van Leeuwen
- Inst. for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, Univ. of Amsterdam; PO Box 94248, NL-1090 GE Amsterdam the Netherlands
| | - Anna Gårdmark
- Dept of Aquatic Resources; Inst. of Coastal Research Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences; Skolgatan 6 SE-742 42 Öregrund Sweden
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48
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Rudolf VHW, Rasmussen NL. Population structure determines functional differences among species and ecosystem processes. Nat Commun 2014; 4:2318. [PMID: 23933614 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms3318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2013] [Accepted: 07/17/2013] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Linking the structure of communities to ecosystem functioning has been a perennial challenge in ecology. Studies on ecosystem function are traditionally focused on changes in species composition. However, this species-centric approach neglects the often dramatic changes in the ecology of organisms during their development, thereby limiting our ability to link the structure of populations and communities to the functioning of natural ecosystems. Here we experimentally demonstrate that the impact of organisms on community structure and ecosystem processes often differ more among developmental stages within a species than between species, contrary to current assumptions. Importantly, we show that functional differences between species vary depending on the specific demographic structure of predators. One important implication is that changes in the demography of populations can strongly alter the functional composition of communities and change ecosystem processes long before any species are extirpated from communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Volker H W Rudolf
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Rice University, 6100 Main Street-MS 170, Houston, Texas 77005, USA.
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49
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Laugen AT, Engelhard GH, Whitlock R, Arlinghaus R, Dankel DJ, Dunlop ES, Eikeset AM, Enberg K, Jørgensen C, Matsumura S, Nusslé S, Urbach D, Baulier L, Boukal DS, Ernande B, Johnston FD, Mollet F, Pardoe H, Therkildsen NO, Uusi-Heikkilä S, Vainikka A, Heino M, Rijnsdorp AD, Dieckmann U. Evolutionary impact assessment: accounting for evolutionary consequences of fishing in an ecosystem approach to fisheries management. FISH AND FISHERIES (OXFORD, ENGLAND) 2014; 15:65-96. [PMID: 26430388 PMCID: PMC4579828 DOI: 10.1111/faf.12007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2011] [Accepted: 07/30/2012] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Managing fisheries resources to maintain healthy ecosystems is one of the main goals of the ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF). While a number of international treaties call for the implementation of EAF, there are still gaps in the underlying methodology. One aspect that has received substantial scientific attention recently is fisheries-induced evolution (FIE). Increasing evidence indicates that intensive fishing has the potential to exert strong directional selection on life-history traits, behaviour, physiology, and morphology of exploited fish. Of particular concern is that reversing evolutionary responses to fishing can be much more difficult than reversing demographic or phenotypically plastic responses. Furthermore, like climate change, multiple agents cause FIE, with effects accumulating over time. Consequently, FIE may alter the utility derived from fish stocks, which in turn can modify the monetary value living aquatic resources provide to society. Quantifying and predicting the evolutionary effects of fishing is therefore important for both ecological and economic reasons. An important reason this is not happening is the lack of an appropriate assessment framework. We therefore describe the evolutionary impact assessment (EvoIA) as a structured approach for assessing the evolutionary consequences of fishing and evaluating the predicted evolutionary outcomes of alternative management options. EvoIA can contribute to EAF by clarifying how evolution may alter stock properties and ecological relations, support the precautionary approach to fisheries management by addressing a previously overlooked source of uncertainty and risk, and thus contribute to sustainable fisheries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ane T Laugen
- Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Ecology,Box 7044, SE-75643, Uppsala, Sweden
- IFREMER, Laboratoire Ressources Halieutiques,Avenue du Général de Gaulle, F-14520, Port-en-Bessin, France
| | - Georg H Engelhard
- Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (Cefas),Pakefield Road, Lowestoft, NR33 0HT, UK
| | - Rebecca Whitlock
- Evolution and Ecology Program, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA),Schlossplatz 1, A-2361, Laxenburg, Austria
- Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University,120 Oceanview Blvd, Pacific Grove, CA, 93950, California, USA
- Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute,Itäinen Pitkäkatu 3, FI-20520, Turku, Finland
| | - Robert Arlinghaus
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries,Müggelseedamm 310, Berlin, 12587, Germany
- Department for Crop and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Horticulture, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin,Philippstrasse 13, Haus 7, 10115, Berlin, Germany
| | - Dorothy J Dankel
- Institute of Marine Research,PO Box 1870, Nordnes, NO-5817, Bergen, Norway
| | - Erin S Dunlop
- Institute of Marine Research,PO Box 1870, Nordnes, NO-5817, Bergen, Norway
- EvoFish Research Group, Department of Biology, University of Bergen,Box 7803, NO-5020, Bergen, Norway
- Aquatic Research and Development Section, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources,300 Water Street, PO Box 7000, Peterborough, ON, Canada, K9J 8M5
| | - Anne M Eikeset
- Department of Biology, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), University of Oslo,PO Box 1066, Blindern, NO-0316, Oslo, Norway
| | - Katja Enberg
- Institute of Marine Research,PO Box 1870, Nordnes, NO-5817, Bergen, Norway
- EvoFish Research Group, Department of Biology, University of Bergen,Box 7803, NO-5020, Bergen, Norway
| | - Christian Jørgensen
- EvoFish Research Group, Department of Biology, University of Bergen,Box 7803, NO-5020, Bergen, Norway
- Computational Ecology Unit, Uni Research,PO Box 7810, NO-5020, Bergen, Norway
| | - Shuichi Matsumura
- Evolution and Ecology Program, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA),Schlossplatz 1, A-2361, Laxenburg, Austria
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries,Müggelseedamm 310, Berlin, 12587, Germany
- Faculty of Applied Biological Sciences, Gifu University,Yanagido 1-1, Gifu, 501-1193, Japan
| | - Sébastien Nusslé
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne,Biophore, CH-1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Conservation Biology, Bern University,Erlachstrasse 9a, CH-3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Davnah Urbach
- Evolution and Ecology Program, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA),Schlossplatz 1, A-2361, Laxenburg, Austria
- Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, The Class of 1978 Life Sciences Center,78 College Street, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA
| | - Loїc Baulier
- Institute of Marine Research,PO Box 1870, Nordnes, NO-5817, Bergen, Norway
- EvoFish Research Group, Department of Biology, University of Bergen,Box 7803, NO-5020, Bergen, Norway
- Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Center, Agrocampus Ouest Centre de Rennes,65 rue de Saint Brieuc, CS 84215, F-35042, Rennes Cedex, France
| | - David S Boukal
- Institute of Marine Research,PO Box 1870, Nordnes, NO-5817, Bergen, Norway
- EvoFish Research Group, Department of Biology, University of Bergen,Box 7803, NO-5020, Bergen, Norway
- Department of Ecosystems Biology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia,Branisovska 31, CZ-37005, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Bruno Ernande
- Evolution and Ecology Program, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA),Schlossplatz 1, A-2361, Laxenburg, Austria
- IFREMER, Laboratoire Ressources Halieutiques,150 quai Gambetta, BP 699, F-62321, Boulogne-sur-Mer, France
| | - Fiona D Johnston
- Evolution and Ecology Program, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA),Schlossplatz 1, A-2361, Laxenburg, Austria
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries,Müggelseedamm 310, Berlin, 12587, Germany
- Department for Crop and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Horticulture, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin,Philippstrasse 13, Haus 7, 10115, Berlin, Germany
| | - Fabian Mollet
- Evolution and Ecology Program, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA),Schlossplatz 1, A-2361, Laxenburg, Austria
- Wageningen IMARES,Postbus 68, 1970, AB IJmuiden, The Netherlands
| | - Heidi Pardoe
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, MARICE, University of Iceland,Askja, Sturlugata 7, 101, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Nina O Therkildsen
- Section for Population Ecology and Genetics, National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Technical University of Denmark,Vejlsøvej 39, DK-8600, Silkeborg, Denmark
| | - Silva Uusi-Heikkilä
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries,Müggelseedamm 310, Berlin, 12587, Germany
- Division of Genetics and Physiology, Department of Biology, University of Turku,Pharmacity, FI-20014, Turku, Finland
| | - Anssi Vainikka
- Department of Biology, University of Oulu,PO Box 3000, FI-90014, Oulu, Finland
- Swedish Board of Fisheries, Institute of Coastal Research,PO Box 109, SE-74222, Öregrund, Sweden
| | - Mikko Heino
- Evolution and Ecology Program, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA),Schlossplatz 1, A-2361, Laxenburg, Austria
- Institute of Marine Research,PO Box 1870, Nordnes, NO-5817, Bergen, Norway
- EvoFish Research Group, Department of Biology, University of Bergen,Box 7803, NO-5020, Bergen, Norway
| | - Adriaan D Rijnsdorp
- Wageningen IMARES,Postbus 68, 1970, AB IJmuiden, The Netherlands
- Aquaculture and Fisheries Group, Department of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University and Research Centre,PO Box 338, 6700, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Ulf Dieckmann
- Evolution and Ecology Program, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA),Schlossplatz 1, A-2361, Laxenburg, Austria
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van de Wolfshaar KE, HilleRisLambers R, Goudswaard KPC, Rijnsdorp AD, Scheffer M. Nile perch (Lates niloticus, L.) and cichlids (Haplochromis spp.) in Lake Victoria: could prey mortality promote invasion of its predator? THEOR ECOL-NETH 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s12080-014-0215-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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