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Simon-Lledó E, Bett BJ, Benoist NMA, Hoving HJ, Aleynik D, Horton T, Jones DOB. Mass falls of crustacean carcasses link surface waters and the deep seafloor. Ecology 2023; 104:e3898. [PMID: 36263763 PMCID: PMC10078340 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Revised: 09/02/2022] [Accepted: 09/09/2022] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Henk-Jan Hoving
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany
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2
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Sea MA, Hillman JR, Thrush SF. The influence of mussel restoration on coastal carbon cycling. Glob Chang Biol 2022; 28:5269-5282. [PMID: 35656817 PMCID: PMC9544040 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Revised: 05/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Increasing responsiveness to anthropogenic climate change and the loss of global shellfish ecosystems has heightened interest in the carbon storage and sequestration potential of bivalve-dominated systems. While coastal ecosystems are dynamic zones of carbon transformation and change, current uncertainties and notable heterogeneity in the benthic environment make it difficult to ascertain the climate change mitigation capacity of ongoing coastal restoration projects aimed at revitalizing benthic bivalve populations. In this study we sought to distinguish between direct and indirect effects of subtidal green-lipped mussels (Perna canaliculus) on carbon cycling, and combined published literature with in-situ experiments from restored beds to create a carbon budget for New Zealand's shellfish restoration efforts. A direct summation of biogenic calcification, community respiration, and sediment processes suggests a moderate carbon efflux (+100.1 to 179.6 g C m-2 year-1 ) occurs as a result of recent restoration efforts, largely reflective of the heterotrophic nature of bivalves. However, an examination of indirect effects of restoration on benthic community metabolism and sediment dynamics suggests that beds achieve greater carbon fixation rates and support enhanced carbon burial compared to nearby sediments devoid of mussels. We discuss limitations to our first-order approximation and postulate how the significance of mussel restoration to carbon-related outcomes likely increases over longer timescales. Coastal restoration is often conducted to support the provisioning of many ecosystem services, and we propose here that shellfish restoration not be used as a single measure to offset carbon dioxide emissions, but rather used in tandem with other initiatives to recover a bundle of valued ecosystem services.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mallory A. Sea
- Institute of Marine Science, University of AucklandAucklandNew Zealand
| | - Jenny R. Hillman
- Institute of Marine Science, University of AucklandAucklandNew Zealand
| | - Simon F. Thrush
- Institute of Marine Science, University of AucklandAucklandNew Zealand
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3
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Solan M, Archambault P, Renaud PE, März C. The changing Arctic Ocean: consequences for biological communities, biogeochemical processes and ecosystem functioning. Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci 2020; 378:20200266. [PMID: 32862816 PMCID: PMC7481657 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2020.0266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Martin Solan
- School of Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Waterfront Campus, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
- e-mail:
| | - Philippe Archambault
- ArcticNet, Québec Océan, Takuvik, Département de biologie, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
| | - Paul E. Renaud
- Akvaplan-niva, Fram Center for Climate and the Environment, 9296 Tromsø, Norway
- University Centre in Svalbard, Arctic Biology, 9171 Longyearbyen, Norway
| | - Christian März
- School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
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4
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Duffill Telsnig JI, Jennings S, Mill AC, Walker ND, Parnell AC, Polunin NVC. Estimating contributions of pelagic and benthic pathways to consumer production in coupled marine food webs. J Anim Ecol 2018; 88:405-415. [PMID: 30548858 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2018] [Accepted: 10/25/2018] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Pelagic and benthic systems usually interact, but their dynamics and production rates differ. Such differences influence the distribution, reproductive cycles, growth rates, stability and productivity of the consumers they support. Consumer preferences for, and dependence on, pelagic or benthic production are governed by the availability of these sources of production and consumer life history, distribution, habitat, behavioural ecology, ontogenetic stage and morphology. Diet studies may demonstrate the extent to which consumers feed on prey in pelagic or benthic environments. But they do not discriminate benthic production directly supported by phytoplankton from benthic production recycled through detrital pathways. The former will track the dynamics of phytoplankton production more closely than the latter. We develop and apply a new analytical method that uses carbon (C) and sulphur (S) natural abundance stable isotope data to assess the relative contribution of pelagic and benthic pathways to fish consumer production. For 13 species of fish that dominate community biomass in the northern North Sea (estimated >90% of total biomass), relative modal use of pelagic pathways ranged from <25% to >85%. Use of both C and S isotopes as opposed to just C reduced uncertainty in relative modal use estimates. Temporal comparisons of relative modal use of pelagic and benthic pathways revealed similar ranking of species dependency over 4 years, but annual variation in relative modal use within species was typically 10%-40%. For the total fish consumer biomass in the study region, the C and S method linked approximately 70% and 30% of biomass to pelagic and benthic pathways, respectively. As well as providing a new method to define consumers' links to pelagic and benthic pathways, our results demonstrate that a substantial proportion of fish biomass, and by inference production, in the northern North Sea is supported by production that has passed through transformations on the seabed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Simon Jennings
- International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, Copenhagen V, Denmark.,Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft, UK
| | - Aileen C Mill
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
| | - Nicola D Walker
- Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft, UK
| | | | - Nicholas V C Polunin
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
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5
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Fera SA, Rennie MD, Dunlop ES. Broad shifts in the resource use of a commercially harvested fish following the invasion of dreissenid mussels. Ecology 2017; 98:1681-1692. [PMID: 28369860 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2016] [Revised: 02/06/2017] [Accepted: 03/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Dreissenid mussels, including the zebra (Dreissena polymorpha) and quagga (Dreissena rostiformus bugensis) mussel, are invasive species known for their capacity to act as ecosystem engineers. They have caused significant changes in the many freshwater systems they have invaded by increasing water clarity, reducing primary productivity, and altering zooplankton and benthic invertebrate assemblages. What is less clear is how their ecosystem engineering effects manifest up the food web to impact higher trophic levels, including fish. Here, we use a biological tracer (stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen) to analyze long-term and broad-scale trends in the resource use of benthivorous lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) in the Laurentian Great Lakes, where dreissenid mussels have become established in each lake except Lake Superior. We measured stable isotope ratios from archived material (fish scale samples) collected over several decades by multiple agencies and from 14 locations around the Great Lakes. In the majority of locations, the δ13 C of lake whitefish increased following the establishment of dreissenid mussels. Trends in δ15 N were less clear, but significant breakpoints in the time series occurred within 5 yr of dreissenid establishment in several locations, followed by declines in δ15 N. In contrast, isotopic signatures in Lake Superior locations did not show these trends. Our results provide evidence that lake whitefish shifted toward greater reliance on nearshore benthic production, supporting the theory that fundamental energy pathways are changed when dreissenid mussels become established. Importantly, these effects were noted across multiple, large, and complex ecosystems spanning a broad geographic area. Our study underscores the potential for aquatic invasive species to alter key ecosystem services as demonstrated here through their impacts on energy pathways supporting a commercially harvested fish species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shannon A Fera
- Department of Environmental and Life Sciences, Trent University, 1600 West Bank Drive, Peterborough, Ontario, K9J 7B8, Canada.,Aquatic Research and Monitoring Section, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, 2140 East Bank Drive, Peterborough, Ontario, K9L 0G2, Canada
| | - Michael D Rennie
- IISD Experimental Lakes Area Inc., 111 Lombard Avenue, Suite 325, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3B 0T4, Canada.,Department of Biology, Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Road, Thunder Bay, Ontario, P7B 5E1, Canada
| | - Erin S Dunlop
- Department of Environmental and Life Sciences, Trent University, 1600 West Bank Drive, Peterborough, Ontario, K9J 7B8, Canada.,Aquatic Research and Monitoring Section, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, 2140 East Bank Drive, Peterborough, Ontario, K9L 0G2, Canada
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6
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Kimbro DL, Grabowski JH, Hughes AR, Piehler MF, White JW. Nonconsumptive effects of a predator weaken then rebound over time. Ecology 2017; 98:656-667. [PMID: 27987303 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2016] [Revised: 11/02/2016] [Accepted: 12/12/2016] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Predators can influence prey traits and behavior (nonconsumptive effects [NCEs]), often with cascading effects for basal resources and ecosystem function. But critiques of NCE experiments suggest that their duration and design produce results that describe the potential importance of NCEs rather than their actual importance. In light of these critiques, we re-evaluated a toadfish (predator), crab (prey), and oyster (resource) NCE-mediated trophic cascade. In a 4-month field experiment, we varied toadfish cue (NCE) and crab density (approximating variation in predator consumptive effects, CE). Toadfish initially benefitted oyster survival by causing crabs to reduce consumption. But this NCE weakened over time (possibly due to prey hunger), so that after 2 months, crab density (CE) dictated oyster survivorship, regardless of cue. However, the NCE ultimately re-emerged on reefs with a toadfish cue, increasing oyster survivorship. At no point did the effect of toadfish cue on mud crab foraging behavior alter oyster population growth or sediment organic matter on the reef, which is a measure of benthic-pelagic coupling. Instead, both decreased with increasing crab density. Thus, within a system shown to exhibit strong NCEs in short-term experiments (days) our study supported predictions from theoretical models: (a) within the generation of individual prey, the relative influence of NCEs appears to cycle over longer time periods (months); and (b) predator CEs, not NCEs, drive longer-term resource dynamics and ecosystem function. Thus, our study implies that the impacts of removing top predators via activities such as hunting and overfishing will cascade to basal resources and ecosystem properties primarily through density-mediated interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- David L Kimbro
- Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Northeastern University, Nahant, Massachusetts, 01908, USA
| | - Jonathan H Grabowski
- Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Northeastern University, Nahant, Massachusetts, 01908, USA
| | - A Randall Hughes
- Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Northeastern University, Nahant, Massachusetts, 01908, USA
| | - Michael F Piehler
- Institute of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Morehead City, North Carolina, 28557, USA
| | - J Wilson White
- Department of Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, North Carolina, 28403, USA
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7
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Vinebrooke RD, Maclennan MM, Bartrons M, Zettel JP. Missing effects of anthropogenic nutrient deposition on sentinel alpine ecosystems. Glob Chang Biol 2014; 20:2173-2182. [PMID: 24677441 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.12484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2013] [Accepted: 11/11/2013] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition affects unproductive remote alpine and circumpolar ecosystems, which are often considered sentinels of global change. Human activities and forest fires can also elevate phosphorus (P) deposition, possibly compounding the ecological effects of increased N deposition given the ubiquity of nutrient co-limitation of primary producers. Low N : P ratios coupled with evidence of NP-limitation from bioassays led us to hypothesize that P indirectly stimulates phytoplankton by amplifying the direct positive effect of N (i.e. serial N-limitation) in alpine ponds. We tested the hypothesis using the first replicated N × P enrichment experiment conducted at the whole-ecosystem level, which involved 12 alpine ponds located in the low N deposition backcountry of the eastern Front Range of the Canadian Rockies. Although applications of N and P elevated ambient N and P concentrations by 2-5×, seston and plankton remained relatively unaffected in the amended ponds. However, additions of ammonium nitrate elevated the δ(15) N signals of both primary producers and herbivores (fairy shrimp; Anostraca), attesting to trophic transfer of N deposition to consumers. Further, in situ bioassays revealed that grazing by high ambient densities of fairy shrimp together with potential competition from algae lining the pond bottoms suppressed the otherwise serially N-limited response by phytoplankton. Our findings highlight how indirect effects of biotic interactions rather the often implicit direct effects of chemical changes can regulate the sensitivities of extreme ecosystems to nutrient deposition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rolf D Vinebrooke
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E9, Canada
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Abstract
Periphyton communities have received relatively little attention in lake ecosystems. However, evidence is increasing that they play a key role in primary productivity, nutrient cycling, and food web interactions. This review summarizes those findings and places them in a conceptual framework to evaluate the functional importance of periphyton in lakes. The role of periphyton is conceptualized based on a spatial hierarchy. At the coarsest scale, landscape properties such as lake morphometry, influence the amount of available habitat for periphyton growth. Watershed-related properties, such as loading of dissolved organic matter, nutrients, and sediments influence light availability and hence periphyton productivity. At the finer scale of within the lake, both habitat availability and habitat type affect periphyton growth and abundance. In addition, periphyton and phytoplankton compete for available resources at the within-lake scale. Our review indicates that periphyton plays an important functional role in lake nutrient cycles and food webs, especially under such conditions as relatively shallow depths, nutrient-poor conditions, or high water-column transparency. We recommend more studies assessing periphyton function across a spectrum of lake morphometry and trophic conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yvonne Vadeboncoeur
- Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Avenue Docteur Penfield, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1B1, Canada.
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