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Firmino VC, Brasil LS, Juen L, Hamada N, Martins RT. Do Methodological Differences in Experiments with Stream Shredders Imply Variability in Outputs? A Microcosm Approach. NEOTROPICAL ENTOMOLOGY 2024; 53:617-629. [PMID: 38656588 DOI: 10.1007/s13744-024-01150-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2023] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
Experiments are useful scientific tools for testing hypotheses by manipulating variables of interest while controlling for other factors that can bias or confuse the results and their interpretation. To ensures accuracy and reproducibility, experiments must have transparent and repeatable methodologies. Due to the importance of shredder invertebrates in organic matter processing, carbon cycling, and nutrient cycling, we tested experimentally the effect of different methodological approaches in microcosm experiments on the consumption and survival of shredders. We found that the shredder species, the presence or absence of the case, and the use or non-use of air-pumps in the microcosms did not affect shredder performance (i.e., consumption and survival). Furthermore, the type of water (stream or bottled) did not affect shredder performance. On the other hand, the amount of light had a negative effect on shredder performance, with constant light (i.e., 24 h) reducing shredder consumption and survival. Our results demonstrate that the use of different methodologies does not always result in changes in outcomes, thus ensuring comparability. However, luminosity is a critical factor that deserves attention when conducting microcosm experiments. Our findings provide valuable insights that can assist researchers in designing experiments with shredders from neotropical streams and conducting systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viviane Caetano Firmino
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, PA, Brazil.
- Laboratório de Ecologia e Conservação, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, PA, Brazil.
| | - Leandro Schlemmer Brasil
- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Campus Araguaia, Pontal do Araguaia, MT, Brazil
| | - Leandro Juen
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, PA, Brazil
- Laboratório de Ecologia e Conservação, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, PA, Brazil
| | - Neusa Hamada
- Coordenação de Biodiversidade, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, AM, Brazil
| | - Renato Tavares Martins
- Coordenação de Biodiversidade, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, AM, Brazil
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2
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Chan CN, Gushulak CAC, Leavitt PR, Logozzo LA, Finlay K, Bogard MJ. Experimental Ecosystem Eutrophication Causes Offsetting Effects on Emissions of CO 2, CH 4, and N 2O from Agricultural Reservoirs. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:7045-7055. [PMID: 38587903 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c07520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/10/2024]
Abstract
Despite decades of research and management efforts, eutrophication remains a persistent threat to inland waters. As nutrient pollution intensifies in the coming decades, the implications for aquatic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are poorly defined, particularly the responses of individual GHGs: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O). The biogeochemical controls of each gas can differ, making it difficult to predict the overall effect of nutrient pollution on the net radiative forcing of aquatic ecosystems. Here, we induced eutrophication of small nitrogen (N)-limited agricultural reservoirs and measured changes in diffusive GHG emissions within a before-after-control-impact (BACI) study design during June to September 2021. Each gas exhibited a unique response to 300% increases in primary production, with a shift from an overall CO2 source to a sink, a modest increase in N2O flux, and, unexpectedly, no significant change in CH4 emissions. The lack of net directional change in CO2-equivalent GHG emissions in fertilized reservoirs during the summer contrasts findings from empirical studies of eutrophic lakes. Our findings illustrate the difficulty in extrapolating among different sized ecosystems and suggest that forecast 2-fold increases in agricultural N fertilization by 2050 may not result in consistently elevated GHG emissions during summer, at least from small reservoirs in continental grassland regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chun Ngai Chan
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta T1K 3M4, Canada
| | - Cale A C Gushulak
- Department of Biology, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan S4S 0A2, Canada
- Institute of Environmental Change and Society, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan S4S 0A2, Canada
| | - Peter R Leavitt
- Department of Biology, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan S4S 0A2, Canada
- Institute of Environmental Change and Society, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan S4S 0A2, Canada
| | - Laura A Logozzo
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta T1K 3M4, Canada
| | - Kerri Finlay
- Department of Biology, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan S4S 0A2, Canada
- Institute of Environmental Change and Society, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan S4S 0A2, Canada
| | - Matthew J Bogard
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta T1K 3M4, Canada
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3
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Gerig BS, Chaloner DT, Rediske RR, Paterson G, Lamberti GA. Pacific salmon as vectors of environmental contaminants: An experimental test confirms synoptic surveys in natural streams. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2023; 336:122355. [PMID: 37567402 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122355] [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: 04/21/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023]
Abstract
Pacific salmon transfer large quantities of material to tributaries during their spawning migrations, including carcass tissue and labile nutrients but also persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and heavy metals. We conducted a Before-After-Control-Intervention experiment by adding salmon carcasses and eggs to a Michigan (USA) stream that had never received inputs from non-native salmon to understand the bioaccumulation and persistence of biotransported contaminants. Our experimental outcomes were compared to previous studies using meta-analysis. Coincident with the introduction of salmon, the PCB and DDE burden of resident trout significantly increased. However, we did not observe changes in total mercury (Hg). Two years after the salmon addition experiment concluded, resident trout POP concentrations had returned to pre-addition levels, with no difference between the treatment and control reaches. Analysis of effect sizes suggested that the contaminant response observed in our experiment is consistent with field survey observations. Our study suggested that the consumption of salmon eggs drove the increase in POP burden of resident trout while Hg bioaccumulation was influenced by watershed sources. Critically, our study suggests that ecosystems are capable of quickly recovering from POP inputs from species migrations if contaminant sources are removed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandon S Gerig
- Great Rivers Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, National Park Service, Columbia, MO, 65201, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA.
| | - Dominic T Chaloner
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA
| | - Richard R Rediske
- Annis Water Resource Institute, Grand Valley State University, Muskegon, MI, 49441, USA
| | - Gordon Paterson
- Great Lakes Research Center, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, 49931, USA
| | - Gary A Lamberti
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA
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4
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Shakya AW, Allgeier JE. Water column contributions to coral reef productivity: overcoming challenges of context dependence. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2023; 98:1812-1828. [PMID: 37315947 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12984] [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] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Revised: 05/21/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Coral reefs are declining at an unprecedented rate. Effective management and conservation initiatives necessitate improved understanding of the drivers of production because the high rates found in these ecosystems are the foundation of the many services they provide. The water column is the nexus of coral reef ecosystem dynamics, and functions as the interface through which essentially all energy and nutrients are transferred to fuel both new and recycled production. Substantial research has described many aspects of water column dynamics, often focusing on specific components because water column dynamics are highly spatially and temporally context dependent. Although necessary, a cost of this approach is that these dynamics are often not well linked to the broader ecosystem or across systems. To help overcome the challenge of context dependence, we provide a comprehensive review of this literature, and synthesise it through the perspective of ecosystem ecology. Specifically, we provide a framework to organise the drivers of temporal and spatial variation in production dynamics, structured around five primary state factors. These state factors are used to deconstruct the environmental contexts in which three water column sub-food webs mediate 'new' and 'recycled' production. We then highlight critical pathways by which global change drivers are altering coral reefs via the water column. We end by discussing four key knowledge gaps hindering understanding of the role of the water column for mediating coral reef production, and how overcoming these could improve conservation and management strategies. Throughout, we identify areas of extensive research and those where studies remain lacking and provide a database of 84 published studies. Improved integration of water column dynamics into models of coral reef ecosystem function is imperative to achieve the understanding of ecosystem production necessary to develop effective conservation and management strategies needed to stem global coral loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anjali W Shakya
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, 1105 N University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Jacob E Allgeier
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, 1105 N University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
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Nitrogen and Phosphorus Uptake Stoichiometry Tracks Supply Ratio During 2-year Whole-Ecosystem Nutrient Additions. Ecosystems 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-022-00813-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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Lie Z, Zhou G, Huang W, Kadowaki K, Tissue DT, Yan J, Peñuelas J, Sardans J, Li Y, Liu S, Chu G, Meng Z, He X, Liu J. Warming drives sustained plant phosphorus demand in a humid tropical forest. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2022; 28:4085-4096. [PMID: 35412664 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Revised: 04/06/2022] [Accepted: 04/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Phosphorus (P) is often one of the most limiting nutrients in highly weathered soils of humid tropical forests and may regulate the responses of carbon (C) feedback to climate warming. However, the response of P to warming at the ecosystem level in tropical forests is not well understood because previous studies have not comprehensively assessed changes in multiple P processes associated with warming. Here, we detected changes in the ecosystem P cycle in response to a 7-year continuous warming experiment by translocating model plant-soil ecosystems across a 600-m elevation gradient, equivalent to a temperature change of 2.1°C. We found that warming increased plant P content (55.4%) and decreased foliar N:P. Increased plant P content was supplied by multiple processes, including enhanced plant P resorption (9.7%), soil P mineralization (15.5% decrease in moderately available organic P), and dissolution (6.8% decrease in iron-bound inorganic P), without changing litter P mineralization and leachate P. These findings suggest that warming sustained plant P demand by increasing the biological and geochemical controls of the plant-soil P-cycle, which has important implications for C fixation in P-deficient and highly productive tropical forests in future warmer climates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiyang Lie
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Field Science Education and Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Guoyi Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Wenjuan Huang
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA
| | - Kohmei Kadowaki
- Field Science Education and Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
- The Hakubi Center for Advanced Research, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - David T Tissue
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Hawkesbury Campus, Richmond, New South Wales, Australia
- Global Centre for Land-Based Innovation, Western Sydney University, Hawkesbury Campus, Richmond, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Junhua Yan
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Josep Peñuelas
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CEAB-UAB, Bellaterra, Catalonia, Spain
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Valles, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Jordi Sardans
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CEAB-UAB, Bellaterra, Catalonia, Spain
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Valles, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Yuelin Li
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Shizhong Liu
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Guowei Chu
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ze Meng
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xinhua He
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Juxiu Liu
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
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7
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Behzad H, Ohyanagi H, Alharbi B, Ibarra M, Alarawi M, Saito Y, Duarte CM, Bajic V, Mineta K, Gojobori T. A cautionary signal from the Red Sea on the impact of increased dust activity on marine microbiota. BMC Genomics 2022; 23:277. [PMID: 35392799 PMCID: PMC8991508 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-022-08485-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2021] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Global climate change together with growing desertification is leading to increased dust emissions to the atmosphere, drawing attention to possible impacts on marine ecosystems receiving dust deposition. Since microorganisms play important roles in maintaining marine homeostasis through nutrient cycling and carbon flow, detrimental changes in the composition of marine microbiota in response to increased dust input could negatively impact marine health, particularly so in seas located within the Global Dust Belt. Due to its strategic location between two deserts and unique characteristics, the Red Sea provides an attractive semi-enclosed "megacosm" to examine the impacts of large dust deposition on the vastly diverse microbiota in its exceptionally warm oligotrophic waters. RESULTS We used culture-independent metagenomic approaches to assess temporal changes in the Red Sea microbiota in response to two severe sandstorms, one originated in the Nubian Desert in the summer 2016 and a second one originated in the Libyan Desert in the spring 2017. Despite differences in sandstorm origin and meteorological conditions, both sandstorms shifted bacterial and Archaeal groups in a similar mode. In particular, the relative abundance of autotrophic bacteria declined while those of heterotrophic bacteria, particularly Bacteroidetes, and Archaea increased. The changes peaked within six days from the start of sandstorms, and the community recovered the original assemblage within one month. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that increased dust emission with expanding desertification could lead to undesirable impacts in ocean function, enhancing heterotrophic processes while reducing autotrophic ones, thereby affecting the marine food web in seas receiving dust deposition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hayedeh Behzad
- Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.,Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hajime Ohyanagi
- Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.,Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Badr Alharbi
- National Centre for Environmental Technology, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Riyadh, 11442, Saudi Arabia
| | - Martin Ibarra
- Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.,Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohammed Alarawi
- Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.,Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Yoshimoto Saito
- Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.,Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.,Marine Open Innovation (MaOI) Institute, Shizuoka, 424-0922, Japan
| | - Carlos M Duarte
- Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.,Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.,Red Sea Research Center (RSRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Vladimir Bajic
- Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.,Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering Division (CEMSE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Katsuhiko Mineta
- Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia. .,Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering Division (CEMSE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
| | - Takashi Gojobori
- Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia. .,Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
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8
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Pound HL, Martin RM, Zepernick BN, Christopher CJ, Howard SM, Castro HF, Campagna SR, Boyer GL, Bullerjahn GS, Chaffin JD, Wilhelm SW. Changes in Microbiome Activity and Sporadic Viral Infection Help Explain Observed Variability in Microcosm Studies. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:809989. [PMID: 35369463 PMCID: PMC8966487 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.809989] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2021] [Accepted: 02/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The environmental conditions experienced by microbial communities are rarely fully simulated in the laboratory. Researchers use experimental containers ("bottles"), where natural samples can be manipulated and evaluated. However, container-based methods are subject to "bottle effects": changes that occur when enclosing the plankton community that are often times unexplained by standard measures like pigment and nutrient concentrations. We noted variability in a short-term, nutrient amendment experiment during a 2019 Lake Erie, Microcystis spp. bloom. We observed changes in heterotrophic bacteria activity (transcription) on a time-frame consistent with a response to experimental changes in nutrient availability, demonstrating how the often overlooked microbiome of cyanobacterial blooms can be altered. Samples processed at the time of collection (T0) contained abundant transcripts from Bacteroidetes, which reduced in abundance during incubation in all bottles, including controls. Significant biological variability in the expression of Microcystis-infecting phage was observed between replicates, with phosphate-amended treatments showing a 10-fold variation. The expression patterns of Microcystis-infecting phage were significantly correlated with ∼35% of Microcystis-specific functional genes and ∼45% of the cellular-metabolites measured across the entire microbial community, suggesting phage activity not only influenced Microcystis dynamics, but the biochemistry of the microbiome. Our observations demonstrate how natural heterogeneity among replicates can be harnessed to provide further insight on virus and host ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helena L Pound
- Department of Microbiology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - Robbie M Martin
- Department of Microbiology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - Brittany N Zepernick
- Department of Microbiology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - Courtney J Christopher
- Biological and Small Molecule Mass Spectrometry Core, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - Sara M Howard
- Biological and Small Molecule Mass Spectrometry Core, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - Hector F Castro
- Biological and Small Molecule Mass Spectrometry Core, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - Shawn R Campagna
- Biological and Small Molecule Mass Spectrometry Core, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - Gregory L Boyer
- Department of Chemistry, State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY, United States
| | - George S Bullerjahn
- Department of Biological Sciences, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, United States
| | - Justin D Chaffin
- Stone Laboratory and Ohio Sea Grant, The Ohio State University, Put-In-Bay, OH, United States
| | - Steven W Wilhelm
- Department of Microbiology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States
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9
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Leroux SJ, Charron L, Hermanutz L, Feltham J. Cumulative effects of spruce budworm and moose herbivory on boreal forest ecosystems. Funct Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Shawn J. Leroux
- Department of Biology Memorial University of Newfoundland St. John's NL Canada
| | - Louis Charron
- Department of Biology Memorial University of Newfoundland St. John's NL Canada
| | - Luise Hermanutz
- Department of Biology Memorial University of Newfoundland St. John's NL Canada
| | - Janet Feltham
- Terra Nova National ParkParks Canada Glovertown NL Canada
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10
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Gabara SS, Konar BH, Edwards MS. Biodiversity loss leads to reductions in community‐wide trophic complexity. Ecosphere 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Scott S. Gabara
- Department of Biology & Coastal Marine Institute Laboratory San Diego State University San Diego California92182USA
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy University of California Davis California95616USA
| | - Brenda H. Konar
- College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks Alaska99775USA
| | - Matthew S. Edwards
- Department of Biology & Coastal Marine Institute Laboratory San Diego State University San Diego California92182USA
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11
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Serrouya R, Dickie M, Lamb C, van Oort H, Kelly AP, DeMars C, McLoughlin PD, Larter NC, Hervieux D, Ford AT, Boutin S. Trophic consequences of terrestrial eutrophication for a threatened ungulate. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20202811. [PMID: 33468013 PMCID: PMC7893279 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.2811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2020] [Accepted: 12/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Changes in primary productivity have the potential to substantially alter food webs, with positive outcomes for some species and negative outcomes for others. Understanding the environmental context and species traits that give rise to these divergent outcomes is a major challenge to the generality of both theoretical and applied ecology. In aquatic systems, nutrient-mediated eutrophication has led to major declines in species diversity, motivating us to seek terrestrial analogues using a large-mammal system across 598 000 km2 of the Canadian boreal forest. These forests are undergoing some of the most rapid rates of land-use change on Earth and are home to declining caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) populations. Using satellite-derived estimates of primary productivity, coupled with estimates of moose (Alces alces) and wolf (Canis lupus) abundance, we used path analyses to discriminate among hypotheses explaining how habitat alteration can affect caribou population growth. Hypotheses included food limitation, resource dominance by moose over caribou, and apparent competition with predators shared between moose and caribou. Results support apparent competition and yield estimates of wolf densities (1.8 individuals 1000 km-2) above which caribou populations decline. Our multi-trophic analysis provides insight into the cascading effects of habitat alteration from forest cutting that destabilize terrestrial predator-prey dynamics. Finally, the path analysis highlights why conservation actions directed at the proximate cause of caribou decline have been more successful in the near term than those directed further along the trophic chain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Serrouya
- Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E9
| | - Melanie Dickie
- Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E9
| | - Clayton Lamb
- Department of Biology, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada V1V 1V7
| | - Harry van Oort
- Environment, BC Hydro, Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada V0E 2S0
| | - Allicia P. Kelly
- Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, Canada X0E 0P0
| | - Craig DeMars
- Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E9
| | - Philip D. McLoughlin
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada S7N 5E2
| | - Nicholas C. Larter
- Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories, Canada X0E 0N0
| | - Dave Hervieux
- Alberta Environment and Parks, Box 23 Provincial Building, Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada T8V 6J4
| | - Adam T. Ford
- Department of Biology, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada V1V 1V7
| | - Stan Boutin
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E9
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12
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Schmitz OJ, Leroux SJ. Food Webs and Ecosystems: Linking Species Interactions to the Carbon Cycle. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY EVOLUTION AND SYSTEMATICS 2020. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-011720-104730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
All species within ecosystems contribute to regulating carbon cycling because of their functional integration into food webs. Yet carbon modeling and accounting still assumes that only plants, microbes, and invertebrate decomposer species are relevant to the carbon cycle. Our multifaceted review develops a case for considering a wider range of species, especially herbivorous and carnivorous wild animals. Animal control over carbon cycling is shaped by the animals’ stoichiometric needs and functional traits in relation to the stoichiometry and functional traits of their resources. Quantitative synthesis reveals that failing to consider these mechanisms can lead to serious inaccuracies in the carbon budget. Newer carbon-cycle models that consider food-web structure based on organismal functional traits and stoichiometry can offer mechanistically informed predictions about the magnitudes of animal effects that will help guide new empirical research aimed at developing a coherent understanding of the interactions and importance of all species within food webs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oswald J. Schmitz
- School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA
| | - Shawn J. Leroux
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland, A1B 3X9, Canada
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13
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Littlefair JE, Hrenchuk LE, Blanchfield PJ, Rennie MD, Cristescu ME. Thermal stratification and fish thermal preference explain vertical eDNA distributions in lakes. Mol Ecol 2020; 30:3083-3096. [PMID: 32888228 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15623] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2020] [Revised: 07/24/2020] [Accepted: 08/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Significant advances have been made towards surveying animal and plant communities using DNA isolated from environmental samples. Despite rapid progress, we lack a comprehensive understanding of the "ecology" of environmental DNA (eDNA), particularly its temporal and spatial distribution and how this is shaped by abiotic and biotic processes. Here, we tested how seasonal variation in thermal stratification and animal habitat preferences influences the distribution of eDNA in lakes. We sampled eDNA depth profiles of five dimictic lakes during both summer stratification and autumn turnover, each containing warm- and cool-water fishes as well as the cold-water stenotherm, lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush). Habitat use by S. namaycush was validated by acoustic telemetry and was significantly related to eDNA distribution during stratification. Fish eDNA became "stratified" into layers during summer months, reflecting lake stratification and the thermal niches of the species. During summer months, S. namaycush, which rarely ventured into shallow waters, could only be detected at the deepest layers of the lakes, whereas the eDNA of warm-water fishes was much more abundant above the thermocline. By contrast, during autumn lake turnover, the fish species assemblage as detected by eDNA was homogenous throughout the water column. These findings contribute to our overall understanding of the "ecology" of eDNA within lake ecosystems, illustrating how the strong interaction between seasonal thermal structure in lakes and thermal niches of species on very localized spatial scales influences our ability to detect species.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Paul J Blanchfield
- IISD Experimental Lakes Area, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.,Freshwater Institute, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.,Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
| | - Michael D Rennie
- IISD Experimental Lakes Area, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.,Department of Biology, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada
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14
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Turner MG, Calder WJ, Cumming GS, Hughes TP, Jentsch A, LaDeau SL, Lenton TM, Shuman BN, Turetsky MR, Ratajczak Z, Williams JW, Williams AP, Carpenter SR. Climate change, ecosystems and abrupt change: science priorities. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190105. [PMID: 31983326 PMCID: PMC7017767 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Ecologists have long studied patterns, directions and tempos of change, but there is a pressing need to extend current understanding to empirical observations of abrupt changes as climate warming accelerates. Abrupt changes in ecological systems (ACES)-changes that are fast in time or fast relative to their drivers-are ubiquitous and increasing in frequency. Powerful theoretical frameworks exist, yet applications in real-world landscapes to detect, explain and anticipate ACES have lagged. We highlight five insights emerging from empirical studies of ACES across diverse ecosystems: (i) ecological systems show ACES in some dimensions but not others; (ii) climate extremes may be more important than mean climate in generating ACES; (iii) interactions among multiple drivers often produce ACES; (iv) contingencies, such as ecological memory, frequency and sequence of disturbances, and spatial context are important; and (v) tipping points are often (but not always) associated with ACES. We suggest research priorities to advance understanding of ACES in the face of climate change. Progress in understanding ACES requires strong integration of scientific approaches (theory, observations, experiments and process-based models) and high-quality empirical data drawn from a diverse array of ecosystems. This article is part of the theme issue 'Climate change and ecosystems: threats, opportunities and solutions'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica G. Turner
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - W. John Calder
- Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA
| | - Graeme S. Cumming
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Terry P. Hughes
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Anke Jentsch
- Department of Disturbance Ecology, BayCEER, University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
| | | | | | - Bryan N. Shuman
- Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA
| | - Merritt R. Turetsky
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, CanadaN1G 2W1
| | - Zak Ratajczak
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - John W. Williams
- Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - A. Park Williams
- Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964, USA
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15
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Kamarainen AM, Grotzer TA. Constructing Causal Understanding in Complex Systems: Epistemic Strategies Used by Ecosystem Scientists. Bioscience 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biz053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
AbstractMoving from a correlational to a causal account involves epistemological assumptions in any discipline. It presents particular challenges when phenomena involve multiple causes, time lags, feedback loops, or thresholds, as is the case in ecosystem science. Although reductionist approaches may contribute to explanatory efforts, investigation in ecosystems science requires a systems perspective. Understanding how ecosystem scientists arrive at causal accounts—and importantly, that they do—is critical to public understanding of science. Interviews with ten ecosystem scientists revealed the strategies and habits of mind that ecosystem scientists bring to examining complex systems. The scientists described challenges in conducting experiments at relevant scales and the epistemic strategies employed in response. The themes included constructing a body of evidence using multiple approaches, integrating results through statistical and process-based models, measuring and describing variability, conducting experiments in context, thinking across levels, considering the limits to generalizability, and exercising epistemic fluency. We discuss implications for K–20 education.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy M Kamarainen
- Harvard Graduate School of Education in Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Tina A Grotzer
- Harvard Graduate School of Education in Cambridge, Massachusetts
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16
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Emmerton CA, Beaty KG, Casson NJ, Graydon JA, Hesslein RH, Higgins SN, Osman H, Paterson MJ, Park A, Tardif JC. Long-Term Responses of Nutrient Budgets to Concurrent Climate-Related Stressors in a Boreal Watershed. Ecosystems 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-018-0276-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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17
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Fauteux D, Gauthier G, Berteaux D, Palme R, Boonstra R. High Arctic lemmings remain reproductively active under predator-induced elevated stress. Oecologia 2018; 187:657-666. [PMID: 29651661 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-018-4140-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2017] [Accepted: 04/05/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Non-consumptive effects of predation have rarely been assessed in wildlife populations even though their impact could be as important as lethal effects. Reproduction of individuals is one of the most important demographic parameters that could be affected by predator-induced stress, which in turn can have important consequences on population dynamics. We studied non-consumptive effects of predation on the reproductive activity (i.e., mating and fertilization) of a cyclic population of brown lemmings exposed to intense summer predation in the Canadian High Arctic. Lemmings were live-trapped, their reproductive activity (i.e., testes visible in males, pregnancy/lactation in females) assessed, and predators were monitored during the summers of 2014 and 2015 within a 9 ha predator-reduction exclosure delimited by a fence and covered by a net, and on an 11 ha control area. Stress levels were quantified non-invasively with fecal corticosterone metabolites (FCM). We found that FCM levels of lemmings captured outside the predator exclosure (n = 50) were 1.6 times higher than inside (n = 51). The proportion of pregnant/lactating adult females did not differ between the two areas, nor did the proportion of adult scrotal males. We found that lemmings showed physiological stress reactions due to high predation risk, but had no sign of reduced mating activity or fertility. Thus, our results do not support the hypothesis of reproductive suppression by predator-induced stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominique Fauteux
- Department of Biology and Centre d'études nordiques, Université Laval, 1045 Avenue de la Médecine, Quebec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada. .,Canadian Museum of Nature, P.O. Box 3443, Station D, Ottawa, ON, K1P 6P4, Canada.
| | - Gilles Gauthier
- Department of Biology and Centre d'études nordiques, Université Laval, 1045 Avenue de la Médecine, Quebec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada
| | - Dominique Berteaux
- Canada Research Chair on Northern Biodiversity and Centre d'études nordiques, Université du Québec à Rimouski, 300 Allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, QC, G5L 3A1, Canada
| | - Rupert Palme
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine, 1210, Vienna, Austria
| | - Rudy Boonstra
- Centre for the Neurobiology of Stress, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, ON, M1C 1A4, Canada
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18
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Hood JM, Benstead JP, Cross WF, Huryn AD, Johnson PW, Gíslason GM, Junker JR, Nelson D, Ólafsson JS, Tran C. Increased resource use efficiency amplifies positive response of aquatic primary production to experimental warming. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2018; 24:1069-1084. [PMID: 28922515 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2017] [Revised: 08/21/2017] [Accepted: 09/03/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Climate warming is affecting the structure and function of river ecosystems, including their role in transforming and transporting carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P). Predicting how river ecosystems respond to warming has been hindered by a dearth of information about how otherwise well-studied physiological responses to temperature scale from organismal to ecosystem levels. We conducted an ecosystem-level temperature manipulation to quantify how coupling of stream ecosystem metabolism and nutrient uptake responded to a realistic warming scenario. A ~3.3°C increase in mean water temperature altered coupling of C, N, and P fluxes in ways inconsistent with single-species laboratory experiments. Net primary production tripled during the year of experimental warming, while whole-stream N and P uptake rates did not change, resulting in 289% and 281% increases in autotrophic dissolved inorganic N and P use efficiency (UE), respectively. Increased ecosystem production was a product of unexpectedly large increases in mass-specific net primary production and autotroph biomass, supported by (i) combined increases in resource availability (via N mineralization and N2 fixation) and (ii) elevated resource use efficiency, the latter associated with changes in community structure. These large changes in C and nutrient cycling could not have been predicted from the physiological effects of temperature alone. Our experiment provides clear ecosystem-level evidence that warming can shift the balance between C and nutrient cycling in rivers, demonstrating that warming will alter the important role of in-stream processes in C, N, and P transformations. Moreover, our results reveal a key role for nutrient supply and use efficiency in mediating responses of primary producers to climate warming.
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Affiliation(s)
- James M Hood
- Aquatic Ecology Laboratory, Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Department of Ecology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA
| | - Jonathan P Benstead
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA
| | - Wyatt F Cross
- Department of Ecology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA
| | - Alexander D Huryn
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA
| | - Philip W Johnson
- Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA
| | - Gísli M Gíslason
- Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland
| | - James R Junker
- Department of Ecology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA
| | - Daniel Nelson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA
| | - Jón S Ólafsson
- Marine and Freshwater Research Institute, Reykjavík, Iceland
| | - Chau Tran
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA
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19
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Affiliation(s)
- David Samuel Johnson
- Department of Biological Sciences The College of William and Mary Virginia Institute of Marine Science 1375 Greate Road Gloucester Point Virginia 23062 USA
| | - Richard Heard
- Department of Coastal Sciences Gulf Coast Research Laboratory University of Southern Mississippi 703 East Beach Street Ocean Springs Mississippi 39564 USA
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20
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Differences in Stream Water Nitrate Concentrations between a Nitrogen-Saturated Upland Forest and a Downstream Mixed Land Use River Basin. HYDROLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.3390/hydrology4030043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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21
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Tumolo BB, Flinn MB. Top-down effects of an invasive omnivore: detection in long-term monitoring of large-river reservoir chlorophyll-a. Oecologia 2017; 185:293-303. [PMID: 28852870 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-017-3937-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2015] [Accepted: 08/22/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin B Tumolo
- Watershed Studies Institute, Murray State University, Murray, KY, 42071, USA.
- Hancock Biological Station, Murray State University, Murray, KY, 42071, USA.
- Department of Ecology, Montana State University, P.O. Box 173460, Bozeman, MT, 59717-3460, USA.
| | - Michael B Flinn
- Watershed Studies Institute, Murray State University, Murray, KY, 42071, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, Murray State University, 2112 Biology Building, Murray, KY, 42071, USA
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22
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Serrouya R, McLellan BN, van Oort H, Mowat G, Boutin S. Experimental moose reduction lowers wolf density and stops decline of endangered caribou. PeerJ 2017; 5:e3736. [PMID: 28875080 PMCID: PMC5580390 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.3736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2017] [Accepted: 08/04/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The expansion of moose into southern British Columbia caused the decline and extirpation of woodland caribou due to their shared predators, a process commonly referred to as apparent competition. Using an adaptive management experiment, we tested the hypothesis that reducing moose to historic levels would reduce apparent competition and therefor recover caribou populations. Nested within this broad hypothesis were three specific hypotheses: (1) sport hunting could be used to substantially reduce moose numbers to an ecological target; (2) wolves in this ecosystem were primarily limited by moose abundance; and (3) caribou were limited by wolf predation. These hypotheses were evaluated with a before-after control-impact (BACI) design that included response metrics such as population trends and vital rates of caribou, moose, and wolves. Three caribou subpopulations were subject to the moose reduction treatment and two were in a reference area where moose were not reduced. When the moose harvest was increased, the moose population declined substantially in the treatment area (by 70%) but not the reference area, suggesting that the policy had the desired effect and was not caused by a broader climatic process. Wolf numbers subsequently declined in the treatment area, with wolf dispersal rates 2.5× greater, meaning that dispersal was the likely mechanism behind the wolf numerical response, though reduced recruitment and starvation was also documented in the treatment area. Caribou adult survival increased from 0.78 to 0.88 in the treatment area, but declined in the reference. Caribou recruitment was unaffected by the treatment. The largest caribou subpopulation stabilized in the treatment area, but declined in the reference area. The observed population stability is comparable to other studies that used intensive wolf control, but is insufficient to achieve recovery, suggesting that multiple limiting factors and corresponding management tools must be addressed simultaneously to achieve population growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Serrouya
- Columbia Mountains Caribou Research Project, Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada.,Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Bruce N McLellan
- Columbia Mountains Caribou Research Project, Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada.,Research Branch, Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations, D'Arcy, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Harry van Oort
- Columbia Mountains Caribou Research Project, Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Garth Mowat
- Natural Resource Science Section, Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations, Nelson, British Columbia, Canada.,Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Stan Boutin
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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23
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Nelson D, Benstead JP, Huryn AD, Cross WF, Hood JM, Johnson PW, Junker JR, Gíslason GM, Ólafsson JS. Experimental whole-stream warming alters community size structure. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2017; 23:2618-2628. [PMID: 27868314 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2016] [Revised: 11/03/2016] [Accepted: 11/07/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
How ecological communities respond to predicted increases in temperature will determine the extent to which Earth's biodiversity and ecosystem functioning can be maintained into a warmer future. Warming is predicted to alter the structure of natural communities, but robust tests of such predictions require appropriate large-scale manipulations of intact, natural habitat that is open to dispersal processes via exchange with regional species pools. Here, we report results of a two-year whole-stream warming experiment that shifted invertebrate assemblage structure via unanticipated mechanisms, while still conforming to community-level metabolic theory. While warming by 3.8 °C decreased invertebrate abundance in the experimental stream by 60% relative to a reference stream, total invertebrate biomass was unchanged. Associated shifts in invertebrate assemblage structure were driven by the arrival of new taxa and a higher proportion of large, warm-adapted species (i.e., snails and predatory dipterans) relative to small-bodied, cold-adapted taxa (e.g., chironomids and oligochaetes). Experimental warming consequently shifted assemblage size spectra in ways that were unexpected, but consistent with thermal optima of taxa in the regional species pool. Higher temperatures increased community-level energy demand, which was presumably satisfied by higher primary production after warming. Our experiment demonstrates how warming reassembles communities within the constraints of energy supply via regional exchange of species that differ in thermal physiological traits. Similar responses will likely mediate impacts of anthropogenic warming on biodiversity and ecosystem function across all ecological communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Nelson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487 USA
| | - Jonathan P Benstead
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487 USA
| | - Alexander D Huryn
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487 USA
| | - Wyatt F Cross
- Department of Ecology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59717, USA
| | - James M Hood
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Aquatic Ecology Laboratory, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 43212, USA
| | - Philip W Johnson
- Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA
| | - James R Junker
- Department of Ecology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59717, USA
| | - Gísli M Gíslason
- Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland
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24
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Nelson D, Benstead JP, Huryn AD, Cross WF, Hood JM, Johnson PW, Junker JR, Gíslason GM, Ólafsson JS. Shifts in community size structure drive temperature invariance of secondary production in a stream‐warming experiment. Ecology 2017; 98:1797-1806. [DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2016] [Revised: 03/03/2017] [Accepted: 03/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Nelson
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Alabama Tuscaloosa Alabama 35487 USA
| | - Jonathan P. Benstead
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Alabama Tuscaloosa Alabama 35487 USA
| | - Alexander D. Huryn
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Alabama Tuscaloosa Alabama 35487 USA
| | - Wyatt F. Cross
- Department of Ecology Montana State University Bozeman Montana 59717 USA
| | - James M. Hood
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology The Aquatic Ecology Laboratory The Ohio State University Columbus Ohio 43212 USA
| | - Philip W. Johnson
- Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering University of Alabama Tuscaloosa Alabama 35487 USA
| | - James R. Junker
- Department of Ecology Montana State University Bozeman Montana 59717 USA
| | - Gísli M. Gíslason
- Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences Askja Sturlugata 7 101 Reykjavík Iceland
| | - Jón S. Ólafsson
- Institute of Freshwater Fisheries Keldnaholt 112 Reykjavík Iceland
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25
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Barley SC, Meeuwig JJ. The Power and the Pitfalls of Large-scale, Unreplicated Natural Experiments. Ecosystems 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-016-0028-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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26
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Phang SC, Stillman RA, Cucherousset J, Britton JR, Roberts D, Beaumont WRC, Gozlan RE. FishMORPH - An agent-based model to predict salmonid growth and distribution responses under natural and low flows. Sci Rep 2016; 6:29414. [PMID: 27431787 PMCID: PMC4949470 DOI: 10.1038/srep29414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2016] [Accepted: 06/07/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Predicting fish responses to modified flow regimes is becoming central to fisheries management. In this study we present an agent-based model (ABM) to predict the growth and distribution of young-of-the-year (YOY) and one-year-old (1+) Atlantic salmon and brown trout in response to flow change during summer. A field study of a real population during both natural and low flow conditions provided the simulation environment and validation patterns. Virtual fish were realistic both in terms of bioenergetics and feeding. We tested alternative movement rules to replicate observed patterns of body mass, growth rates, stretch distribution and patch occupancy patterns. Notably, there was no calibration of the model. Virtual fish prioritising consumption rates before predator avoidance replicated observed growth and distribution patterns better than a purely maximising consumption rule. Stream conditions of low predation and harsh winters provide ecological justification for the selection of this behaviour during summer months. Overall, the model was able to predict distribution and growth patterns well across both natural and low flow regimes. The model can be used to support management of salmonids by predicting population responses to predicted flow impacts and associated habitat change.
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Affiliation(s)
- S. C. Phang
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science & Technology, Bournemouth University, Fern Barrow, Poole, Dorset BH12 5BB, UK
| | - R. A. Stillman
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science & Technology, Bournemouth University, Fern Barrow, Poole, Dorset BH12 5BB, UK
| | - J. Cucherousset
- CNRS, Université Paul Sabatier, ENFA; UMR 5174 EDB (Laboratoire Evolution & Diversité Biologique); 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062 Toulouse, France
- Université Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier, CNRS; UMR5174 EDB, F-31062 Toulouse, France
| | - J. R. Britton
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science & Technology, Bournemouth University, Fern Barrow, Poole, Dorset BH12 5BB, UK
| | - D. Roberts
- Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, Salmon & Trout Research Centre, East Stoke, Dorset, UK
| | - W. R. C. Beaumont
- Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, Salmon & Trout Research Centre, East Stoke, Dorset, UK
| | - R. E. Gozlan
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, UMR BOREA IRD-MNHN-Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 47 rue Cuvier, 75231 Paris cedex 5, France
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Ecosystem experiment reveals benefits of natural and simulated beaver dams to a threatened population of steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Sci Rep 2016; 6:28581. [PMID: 27373190 PMCID: PMC4931505 DOI: 10.1038/srep28581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2015] [Accepted: 06/07/2016] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Beaver have been referred to as ecosystem engineers because of the large impacts their dam building activities have on the landscape; however, the benefits they may provide to fluvial fish species has been debated. We conducted a watershed-scale experiment to test how increasing beaver dam and colony persistence in a highly degraded incised stream affects the freshwater production of steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Following the installation of beaver dam analogs (BDAs), we observed significant increases in the density, survival, and production of juvenile steelhead without impacting upstream and downstream migrations. The steelhead response occurred as the quantity and complexity of their habitat increased. This study is the first large-scale experiment to quantify the benefits of beavers and BDAs to a fish population and its habitat. Beaver mediated restoration may be a viable and efficient strategy to recover ecosystem function of previously incised streams and to increase the production of imperiled fish populations.
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Watts K, Fuentes-Montemayor E, Macgregor NA, Peredo-Alvarez V, Ferryman M, Bellamy C, Brown N, Park KJ. Using historical woodland creation to construct a long-term, large-scale natural experiment: the WrEN project. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:3012-25. [PMID: 27217949 PMCID: PMC4863024 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2015] [Revised: 02/08/2016] [Accepted: 02/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Natural experiments have been proposed as a way of complementing manipulative experiments to improve ecological understanding and guide management. There is a pressing need for evidence from such studies to inform a shift to landscape-scale conservation, including the design of ecological networks. Although this shift has been widely embraced by conservation communities worldwide, the empirical evidence is limited and equivocal, and may be limiting effective conservation. We present principles for well-designed natural experiments to inform landscape-scale conservation and outline how they are being applied in the WrEN project, which is studying the effects of 160 years of woodland creation on biodiversity in UK landscapes. We describe the study areas and outline the systematic process used to select suitable historical woodland creation sites based on key site- and landscape-scale variables - including size, age, and proximity to other woodland. We present the results of an analysis to explore variation in these variables across sites to test their suitability as a basis for a natural experiment. Our results confirm that this landscape satisfies the principles we have identified and provides an ideal study system for a long-term, large-scale natural experiment to explore how woodland biodiversity is affected by different site and landscape attributes. The WrEN sites are now being surveyed for a wide selection of species that are likely to respond differently to site- and landscape-scale attributes and at different spatial and temporal scales. The results from WrEN will help develop detailed recommendations to guide landscape-scale conservation, including the design of ecological networks. We also believe that the approach presented demonstrates the wider utility of well-designed natural experiments to improve our understanding of ecological systems and inform policy and practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Watts
- Forest Research Alice Holt Lodge Farnham Surrey GU10 4LH UK; Biological and Environmental Sciences School of Natural Sciences University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA UK
| | - Elisa Fuentes-Montemayor
- Biological and Environmental Sciences School of Natural Sciences University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA UK
| | - Nicholas A Macgregor
- Natural England Nobel House, 17 Smith Square London SW1P 3JR UK; Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) School of Anthropology and Conservation University of Kent Canterbury Kent CT2 7NR UK
| | - Victor Peredo-Alvarez
- Biological and Environmental Sciences School of Natural Sciences University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA UK
| | - Mark Ferryman
- Forest Research Alice Holt Lodge Farnham Surrey GU10 4LH UK
| | - Chloe Bellamy
- Forest Research Northern Research Station Roslin Midlothian EH25 9SY UK
| | - Nigel Brown
- Natural England Unex House Peterborough PE1 1NG UK
| | - Kirsty J Park
- Biological and Environmental Sciences School of Natural Sciences University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA UK
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Young M, Cavanaugh K, Bell T, Raimondi P, Edwards CA, Drake PT, Erikson L, Storlazzi C. Environmental controls on spatial patterns in the long‐term persistence of giant kelp in central California. ECOL MONOGR 2016. [DOI: 10.1890/15-0267.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mary Young
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department University of California Santa Cruz California 95060 USA
| | - Kyle Cavanaugh
- Geography Department University of California Los Angeles California 90095 USA
| | - Tom Bell
- Earth Research Institute University of California Santa Barbara California 93106 USA
| | - Pete Raimondi
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department University of California Santa Cruz California 95060 USA
| | | | - Patrick T. Drake
- Ocean Sciences Department University of California Santa Cruz California 95064 USA
| | - Li Erikson
- Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center U.S. Geological Survey Santa Cruz California 95060 USA
| | - Curt Storlazzi
- Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center U.S. Geological Survey Santa Cruz California 95060 USA
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Whole-Catchment Manipulations of Internal and External Loading Reveal the Sensitivity of a Century-Old Reservoir to Hypoxia. Ecosystems 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-015-9951-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Large difference in carbon emission – burial balances between boreal and arctic lakes. Sci Rep 2015; 5:14248. [PMID: 26370519 PMCID: PMC4642577 DOI: 10.1038/srep14248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2015] [Accepted: 08/21/2015] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Lakes play an important role in the global carbon (C) cycle by burying C in sediments and emitting CO2 and CH4 to the atmosphere. The strengths and control of these fundamentally different pathways are therefore of interest when assessing the continental C balance and its response to environmental change. In this study, based on new high-resolution estimates in combination with literature data, we show that annual emission:burial ratios are generally ten times higher in boreal compared to subarctic – arctic lakes. These results suggest major differences in lake C cycling between biomes, as lakes in warmer boreal regions emit more and store relatively less C than lakes in colder arctic regions. Such effects are of major importance for understanding climatic feedbacks on the continental C sink – source function at high latitudes. If predictions of global warming and northward expansion of the boreal biome are correct, it is likely that increasing C emissions from high latitude lakes will partly counteract the presumed increasing terrestrial C sink capacity at high latitudes.
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Pan Y, Zhang Y, Peng Y, Zhao Q, Sun S. Increases of Chamber Height and Base Diameter Have Contrasting Effects on Grazing Rate of Two Cladoceran Species: Implications for Microcosm Studies. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0135786. [PMID: 26273836 PMCID: PMC4537195 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0135786] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2014] [Accepted: 07/27/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Aquatic microcosm studies often increase either chamber height or base diameter (to increase water volume) to test spatial ecology theories such as “scale” effects on ecological processes, but it is unclear whether the increase of chamber height or base diameter have the same effect on the processes, i.e., whether the effect of the shape of three-dimensional spaces is significant. We orthogonally manipulated chamber height and base diameter and determined swimming activity, average swimming velocity and grazing rates of the cladocerans Daphnia magna and Moina micrura (on two algae Scenedesmus quadricauda and Chlorella vulgaris; leading to four aquatic algae-cladoceran systems in total) under different microcosm conditions. Across all the four aquatic systems, increasing chamber height at a given base diameter significantly decreased the duration and velocity of horizontal swimming, and it tended to increase the duration but decrease the velocity of vertical swimming. These collectively led to decreases in both average swimming velocity and grazing rate of the cladocerans in the tall chambers (at a given base diameter), in accordance with the positive relationship between average swimming velocity and grazing rate. In contrast, an increase of base diameter at a given chamber height showed contrasting effects on the above parameters. Consistently, at a given chamber volume increasing ratio of chamber height to base diameter decreased the average swimming velocity and grazing rate across all the aquatic systems. In general, increasing chamber depth and base diameter may exert contrasting effects on zooplankton behavior and thus phytoplankton-zooplankton interactions. We suggest that spatial shape plays an important role in determining ecological process and thus should be considered in a theoretical framework of spatial ecology and also the physical setting of aquatic microcosm experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Pan
- Department of Biology, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093, China
- School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650031, China
| | - Yunshu Zhang
- Department of Biology, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093, China
| | - Yan Peng
- Department of Surveying and Mapping Engineering, Changjiang Institute of Technology, 9 Wenhua Road, Jiaxia District, Wuhan, 430212, China
| | - Qinghua Zhao
- Department of Biology, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093, China
| | - Shucun Sun
- Department of Biology, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093, China
- Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, China
- * E-mail:
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Scheuerell MD, Buhle ER, Semmens BX, Ford MJ, Cooney T, Carmichael RW. Analyzing large-scale conservation interventions with Bayesian hierarchical models: a case study of supplementing threatened Pacific salmon. Ecol Evol 2015; 5:2115-25. [PMID: 26045960 PMCID: PMC4449763 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2014] [Revised: 02/25/2015] [Accepted: 04/02/2015] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Myriad human activities increasingly threaten the existence of many species. A variety of conservation interventions such as habitat restoration, protected areas, and captive breeding have been used to prevent extinctions. Evaluating the effectiveness of these interventions requires appropriate statistical methods, given the quantity and quality of available data. Historically, analysis of variance has been used with some form of predetermined before-after control-impact design to estimate the effects of large-scale experiments or conservation interventions. However, ad hoc retrospective study designs or the presence of random effects at multiple scales may preclude the use of these tools. We evaluated the effects of a large-scale supplementation program on the density of adult Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha from the Snake River basin in the northwestern United States currently listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. We analyzed 43 years of data from 22 populations, accounting for random effects across time and space using a form of Bayesian hierarchical time-series model common in analyses of financial markets. We found that varying degrees of supplementation over a period of 25 years increased the density of natural-origin adults, on average, by 0-8% relative to nonsupplementation years. Thirty-nine of the 43 year effects were at least two times larger in magnitude than the mean supplementation effect, suggesting common environmental variables play a more important role in driving interannual variability in adult density. Additional residual variation in density varied considerably across the region, but there was no systematic difference between supplemented and reference populations. Our results demonstrate the power of hierarchical Bayesian models to detect the diffuse effects of management interventions and to quantitatively describe the variability of intervention success. Nevertheless, our study could not address whether ecological factors (e.g., competition) were more important than genetic considerations (e.g., inbreeding depression) in determining the response to supplementation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark D Scheuerell
- Fish Ecology Division, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Seattle, Washington, 98112
| | - Eric R Buhle
- Fish Ecology Division, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Seattle, Washington, 98112
| | - Brice X Semmens
- Scripps Institute of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, 92093
| | - Michael J Ford
- Conservation Biology Division, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Seattle, Washington, 98112
| | - Tom Cooney
- Conservation Biology Division, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Seattle, Washington, 98112
| | - Richard W Carmichael
- Northeast-Central Oregon Research and Monitoring, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Eastern Oregon University La Grande, Oregon, 97850
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Thorson JT, Scheuerell MD, Semmens BX, Pattengill-Semmens CV. Demographic modeling of citizen science data informs habitat preferences and population dynamics of recovering fishes. Ecology 2014. [DOI: 10.1890/13-2223.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Edge C, Thompson D, Hao C, Houlahan J. The response of amphibian larvae to exposure to a glyphosate-based herbicide (Roundup WeatherMax) and nutrient enrichment in an ecosystem experiment. ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 2014; 109:124-32. [PMID: 25173748 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2014.07.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2014] [Revised: 07/25/2014] [Accepted: 07/27/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Herbicides and fertilizers are widely used throughout the world and pose a threat to aquatic ecosystems. Using a replicated, whole ecosystem experiment in which 24 small wetlands were split in half with an impermeable barrier we tested whether exposure to a glyphosate-based herbicide, Roundup WeatherMax™, alone or in combination with nutrient enrichment has an effect on the survival, growth or development of amphibians. The herbicide was applied at one of two concentrations (low=210 μg a.e./L, high=2880 μg a.e./L) alone and in combination with nutrient enrichment to one side of wetlands and the other was left as an untreated control. Each treatment was replicated with six wetlands, and the experiment was repeated over two years. In the high glyphosate and nutrient enrichment treatment the survival of wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) larvae was lower in enclosures placed in situ on the treated sides than the control sides of wetlands. However, these results were not replicated in the second year of study and they were not observed in free swimming wood frog larvae in the wetlands. In all treatments, wood frog larvae on the treated sides of wetlands were slightly larger (<10%) than those on the control side, but no effect on development was observed. The most dramatic finding was that the abundance of green frog larvae (Lithobates clamitans) was higher on the treated sides than the control sides of wetlands in the herbicide and nutrient treatments during the second year of the study. The results observed in this field study indicate that caution is necessary when extrapolating results from artificial systems to predict effects in natural systems. In this experiment, the lack of toxicity to amphibian larvae was probably due to the fact the pH of the wetlands was relatively low and the presence of sediments and organic surfaces which would have mitigated the exposure duration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Edge
- Biology Department, University of New Brunswick, 100 Tucker Park Rd, Saint John, NB, Canada E2L4L5; Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Harbord St, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S3G5(1).
| | - Dean Thompson
- Great Lakes Forestry Center, Canadian Forest Service, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, Canada P6A2E5
| | - Chunyan Hao
- Laboratory Services Branch, Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Etobicoke
| | - Jeff Houlahan
- Biology Department, University of New Brunswick, 100 Tucker Park Rd, Saint John, NB, Canada E2L4L5
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Developing a broader scientific foundation for river restoration: Columbia River food webs. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2012. [PMID: 23197837 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1213408109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Well-functioning food webs are fundamental for sustaining rivers as ecosystems and maintaining associated aquatic and terrestrial communities. The current emphasis on restoring habitat structure--without explicitly considering food webs--has been less successful than hoped in terms of enhancing the status of targeted species and often overlooks important constraints on ecologically effective restoration. We identify three priority food web-related issues that potentially impede successful river restoration: uncertainty about habitat carrying capacity, proliferation of chemicals and contaminants, and emergence of hybrid food webs containing a mixture of native and invasive species. Additionally, there is the need to place these food web considerations in a broad temporal and spatial framework by understanding the consequences of altered nutrient, organic matter (energy), water, and thermal sources and flows, reconnecting critical habitats and their food webs, and restoring for changing environments. As an illustration, we discuss how the Columbia River Basin, site of one of the largest aquatic/riparian restoration programs in the United States, would benefit from implementing a food web perspective. A food web perspective for the Columbia River would complement ongoing approaches and enhance the ability to meet the vision and legal obligations of the US Endangered Species Act, the Northwest Power Act (Fish and Wildlife Program), and federal treaties with Northwest Indian Tribes while meeting fundamental needs for improved river management.
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Deegan LA, Johnson DS, Warren RS, Peterson BJ, Fleeger JW, Fagherazzi S, Wollheim WM. Coastal eutrophication as a driver of salt marsh loss. Nature 2012; 490:388-92. [PMID: 23075989 DOI: 10.1038/nature11533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 301] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2012] [Accepted: 08/20/2012] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Lunde KB, Resh VH, Johnson PTJ. Using an ecosystem-level manipulation to understand host-parasite interactions and how they vary with study venue. Ecosphere 2012. [DOI: 10.1890/es12-00001.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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Benedetti-Cecchi L, Tamburello L, Bulleri F, Maggi E, Gennusa V, Miller M. Linking patterns and processes across scales: the application of scale-transition theory to algal dynamics on rocky shores. J Exp Biol 2012; 215:977-85. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.058826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
SUMMARY
Understanding how species and environments respond to global anthropogenic disturbances is one of the greatest challenges for contemporary ecology. The ability to integrate modeling, correlative and experimental approaches within individual research programs will be key to address large-scale, long-term environmental problems. Scale-transition theory (STT) enables this level of integration, providing a powerful framework to link ecological patterns and processes across spatial and temporal scales. STT predicts the large-scale (e.g. regional) behavior of a system on the basis of nonlinear population models describing local (e.g. patch-scale) dynamics and the interaction between these nonlinearities and spatial variation in population abundance or environmental conditions. Here we use STT to predict the dynamics of turf-forming algae on rocky shores at Capraia Island, in the northwest Mediterranean. We developed a model of algal turf dynamics based on density-dependent growth that included the effects of local interactions with canopy algae. The model was parameterized with field data and used to scale up the dynamics of algal turfs from the plot scale (20×20 cm) to the island scale (tens of km). The interaction between nonlinear growth and spatial variance in cover of turfing algae emerged as a key term to translate the local dynamics up to the island scale. The model successfully predicted short-term and long-term mean values of turf cover estimated independently from a separate experiment. These results illustrate how STT can be used to identify the relevant mechanisms that drive large-scale changes in ecological communities. We argue that STT can contribute significantly to the connection between biomechanics and ecology, a synthesis that is at the core of the emerging field of ecomechanics.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Laura Tamburello
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, CoNISMa, Via Derna 1, Pisa, Italy
| | - Fabio Bulleri
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, CoNISMa, Via Derna 1, Pisa, Italy
- Dipartimento di Science Botaniche, Ecologiche e Geologiche, Università di Sassari, Via Piandanna 4, 07100, Sassari, Italy
| | - Elena Maggi
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, CoNISMa, Via Derna 1, Pisa, Italy
| | - Vincenzo Gennusa
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, CoNISMa, Via Derna 1, Pisa, Italy
- Dipartimento di Science Botaniche, Ecologiche e Geologiche, Università di Sassari, Via Piandanna 4, 07100, Sassari, Italy
| | - Matthew Miller
- Department of Mathematics, 1523 Greene Street, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
- Mathematical Biosciences Institute, Jennings Hall, 1735 Neil Avenue Columbus, OH 43210, USA
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LINDENMAYER DAVIDB, LIKENS GENEE, ANDERSEN ALAN, BOWMAN DAVID, BULL CMICHAEL, BURNS EMMA, DICKMAN CHRISR, HOFFMANN ARYA, KEITH DAVIDA, LIDDELL MICHAELJ, LOWE ANDREWJ, METCALFE DANIELJ, PHINN STUARTR, RUSSELL-SMITH JEREMY, THURGATE NIKKI, WARDLE GLENDAM. Value of long-term ecological studies. AUSTRAL ECOL 2012. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1442-9993.2011.02351.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 258] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Fish Reliance on Littoral–Benthic Resources and the Distribution of Primary Production in Lakes. Ecosystems 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-011-9454-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Walters AW, Post DM. How low can you go? Impacts of a low-flow disturbance on aquatic insect communities. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2011; 21:163-174. [PMID: 21516895 DOI: 10.1890/09-2323.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
The natural hydrology of streams and rivers is being extensively modified by human activities. Water diversion, dam construction, and climate change have the potential to increase the frequency and intensity of low-flow events. Flow is a dominant force structuring stream aquatic insect communities, but the impacts of water diversion are poorly understood. Here we report results of an experimental stream flow diversion designed to test how aquatic insect communities respond to a low-flow disturbance. We diverted 40% to 80% of the water in three replicate streams for three summers, leading to summer flow exceedance probabilities of up to 99.9%. Shifts in habitat availability appeared to be a major driver of aquatic insect community responses. Responses also varied by habitat type: total insect density decreased in riffle habitats, but there was no change in pool habitats. Overall, the total biomass of aquatic insects decreased sharply with lowered flow. Collector-filterers, collector-gatherers, and scrapers were especially susceptible, while predatory insects were more resistant. Despite extremely low flow levels, there was no shift in aquatic insect family richness. The experimental water withdrawal did not increase water temperature or decrease water quality, and some wetted habitat was always maintained, which likely prevented more severe impacts on aquatic insect communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annika W Walters
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, P.O. Box 208106, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8106, USA.
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Historical Roots of Forest Hydrology and Biogeochemistry. FOREST HYDROLOGY AND BIOGEOCHEMISTRY 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-1363-5_1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
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Abstract
Some of the classic experiments in ecology have involved real organisms interacting in the laboratory, that is, model systems. Ecologists are increasingly using model systems to investigate problems of global environmental change and questions about the assembly, persistence, and stability of complex communities. Model laboratory systems are a halfway house between mathematical models and the full complexity of the field, and they yield powerful insights into the dynamics of populations and ecosystems.
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Rosemond AD, Swan CM, Kominoski JS, Dye SE. Non-additive effects of litter mixing are suppressed in a nutrient-enriched stream. OIKOS 2010. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0706.2009.17904.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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50
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Samhouri JF, Levin PS, Harvey CJ. Quantitative Evaluation of Marine Ecosystem Indicator Performance Using Food Web Models. Ecosystems 2009. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-009-9286-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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