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Eagle LJB, Milner AM, Klaar MJ, Carrivick JL, Wilkes M, Brown LE. Extreme flood disturbance effects on multiple dimensions of river invertebrate community stability. J Anim Ecol 2021; 90:2135-2146. [PMID: 34363703 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2021] [Accepted: 07/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Multidimensional analysis of community stability has recently emerged as an overarching approach to evaluating ecosystem response to disturbance. However, the approach has previously been applied only in experimental and modelling studies. We applied this concept to an 18-year time series (2000-2017) of macroinvertebrate community dynamics from a southeast Alaskan river to further develop and test the approach in relation to the effects of two extreme flood events occurring in 2005 (event 1) and 2014 (event 2). Five components of stability were calculated for pairs of pre- or post-event years. Individual components were tested for differences between pre- and post-event time periods. Stability components' pairwise correlations were assessed and ellipsoids of stability were developed for each time period and compared to a null model derived from the permuted dataset. Only one stability component demonstrated a significant difference between time periods. In contrast, 80% of moderate and significant correlations between stability components were degraded post-disturbance and significant changes to the form of stability ellipsoids were observed. Ellipsoids of stability for all periods after the initial disturbance (2005) were not different to the null model. Our results illustrate that the dimensionality of stability approach can be applied to natural ecosystem time-series data. The major increase in dimensionality of stability observed following disturbance potentially indicates significant shifts in the processes which drive stability following disturbance. This evidence improves our understanding of community response beyond what is possible through analysis of individual stability components.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alexander M Milner
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.,Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK, USA
| | - Megan J Klaar
- School of Geography and water@leeds, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | | | - Martin Wilkes
- Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience, Coventry University, Coventry, UK
| | - Lee E Brown
- School of Geography and water@leeds, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
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Gordon TAC, Neto-Cerejeira J, Furey PC, O'Gorman EJ. Changes in feeding selectivity of freshwater invertebrates across a natural thermal gradient. Curr Zool 2018; 64:231-242. [PMID: 30402064 PMCID: PMC5905579 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoy011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2017] [Accepted: 01/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Environmental warming places physiological constraints on organisms, which may be mitigated by their feeding behavior. Theory predicts that consumers should increase their feeding selectivity for more energetically valuable resources in warmer environments to offset the disproportionate increase in metabolic demand relative to ingestion rate. This may also result in a change in feeding strategy or a shift towards a more specialist diet. This study used a natural warming experiment to investigate temperature effects on the feeding selectivity of three freshwater invertebrate grazers: the snail Radix balthica, the blackfly larva Simulium aureum, and the midgefly larva Eukiefferiella minor. Chesson’s Selectivity Index was used to compare the proportional abundance of diatom species in the guts of each invertebrate species with corresponding rock biofilms sampled from streams of different temperature. The snails became more selective in warmer streams, choosing high profile epilithic diatoms over other guilds and feeding on a lower diversity of diatom species. The blackfly larvae appeared to switch from active collector gathering of sessile high profile diatoms to more passive filter feeding of motile diatoms in warmer streams. No changes in selectivity were observed for the midgefly larvae, whose diet was representative of resource availability in the environment. These results suggest that key primary consumers in freshwater streams, which constitute a major portion of invertebrate biomass, can change their feeding behavior in warmer waters in a range of different ways. These patterns could potentially lead to fundamental changes in the flow of energy through freshwater food webs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy A C Gordon
- Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7PY, UK.,Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK
| | - Joana Neto-Cerejeira
- Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7PY, UK
| | - Paula C Furey
- Department of Biology, Saint Catherine University, St Paul, MN 55105, USA
| | - Eoin J O'Gorman
- Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7PY, UK
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Brown LE, Ramchunder SJ, Beadle JM, Holden J. Macroinvertebrate community assembly in pools created during peatland restoration. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2016; 569-570:361-372. [PMID: 27348701 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.06.169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2016] [Revised: 06/10/2016] [Accepted: 06/20/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Many degraded ecosystems are subject to restoration attempts, providing new opportunities to unravel the processes of ecological community assembly. Restoration of previously drained northern peatlands, primarily to promote peat and carbon accumulation, has created hundreds of thousands of new open water pools. We assessed the potential benefits of this wetland restoration for aquatic biodiversity, and how communities reassemble, by comparing pool ecosystems in regions of the UK Pennines on intact (never drained) versus restored (blocked drainage-ditches) peatland. We also evaluated the conceptual idea that comparing reference ecosystems in terms of their compositional similarity to null assemblages (and thus the relative importance of stochastic versus deterministic assembly) can guide evaluations of restoration success better than analyses of community composition or diversity. Community composition data highlighted some differences in the macroinvertebrate composition of restored pools compared to undisturbed peatland pools, which could be used to suggest that alternative end-points to restoration were influenced by stochastic processes. However, widely used diversity metrics indicated no differences between undisturbed and restored pools. Novel evaluations of restoration using null models confirmed the similarity of deterministic assembly processes from the national species pool across all pools. Stochastic elements were important drivers of between-pool differences at the regional-scale but the scale of these effects was also similar across most of the pools studied. The amalgamation of assembly theory into ecosystem restoration monitoring allows us to conclude with more certainty that restoration has been successful from an ecological perspective in these systems. Evaluation of these UK findings compared to those from peatlands across Europe and North America further suggests that restoring peatland pools delivers significant benefits for aquatic fauna by providing extensive new habitat that is largely equivalent to natural pools. More generally, we suggest that assembly theory could provide new benchmarks for planning and evaluating ecological restoration success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lee E Brown
- water@leeds, School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK.
| | | | - Jeannie M Beadle
- water@leeds, School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Joseph Holden
- water@leeds, School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
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Bayona Y, Roucaute M, Cailleaud K, Lagadic L, Bassères A, Caquet T. Effect of thiram and of a hydrocarbon mixture on freshwater macroinvertebrate communities in outdoor stream and pond mesocosms: I. Study design, chemicals fate and structural responses. ECOTOXICOLOGY (LONDON, ENGLAND) 2015; 24:1976-1995. [PMID: 26385344 DOI: 10.1007/s10646-015-1534-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/31/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Higher-tier ecological risk assessment (ERA) in mesocosms is commonly performed in lotic or lentic experimental systems. These systems differ in their physico-chemical and hydrological properties, leading to differences in chemical fate, community characteristics and potential recovery. This raises the issue of the relevance and sensitivity of community-level endpoints in different types of mesocosms. In this study, macroinvertebrate abundance and biomass estimates were used to assess the effects of a dithiocarbamate fungicide, thiram (35 and 170 µg l(-1)), and a petroleum middle distillate (PMD; 0.01, 0.4, 2 and 20 mg l(-1)) in outdoor stream and pond mesocosms. Streams were continuously treated during 3 weeks followed by a 2-month long post-treatment period. Ponds were treated weekly for 4 weeks, followed by a 10-month long post-treatment period. Taxonomic structure of macroinvertebrate communities was characterized using the α, β and γ components of taxa richness, Shannon and Gini-Simpson indices. Computations were based either on abundance or biomass data. Results clearly highlighted that the effects of chemicals depended on the exposure regime (for thiram) and type of system (for the PMD). Causes of the differences between streams and ponds in the magnitude and nature of effects include differential sensitivity of taxa dwelling in lentic and lotic systems and the influence of hydrology (e.g., drift from upstream) and mesocosm connectivity on recovery dynamics. This study also showed complementarities in the use of both types of mesocosms to improve the characterization of chemical effects on communities in ERA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yannick Bayona
- INRA, UMR985 Écologie et Santé des Écosystèmes, Équipe Écotoxicologie et Qualité des Milieux Aquatiques, Agrocampus Ouest, 65 rue de Saint Brieuc, CS 84215, 35042, Rennes, France.
- Service Environnement, TOTAL, Pôle d'Etude et de Recherche de Lacq RN 117, BP 47, 64170, Lacq, France.
| | - Marc Roucaute
- INRA, UMR985 Écologie et Santé des Écosystèmes, Équipe Écotoxicologie et Qualité des Milieux Aquatiques, Agrocampus Ouest, 65 rue de Saint Brieuc, CS 84215, 35042, Rennes, France
| | - Kevin Cailleaud
- Service Environnement, TOTAL, Pôle d'Etude et de Recherche de Lacq RN 117, BP 47, 64170, Lacq, France
| | - Laurent Lagadic
- INRA, UMR985 Écologie et Santé des Écosystèmes, Équipe Écotoxicologie et Qualité des Milieux Aquatiques, Agrocampus Ouest, 65 rue de Saint Brieuc, CS 84215, 35042, Rennes, France
| | - Anne Bassères
- Service Environnement, TOTAL, Pôle d'Etude et de Recherche de Lacq RN 117, BP 47, 64170, Lacq, France
| | - Thierry Caquet
- INRA, UMR985 Écologie et Santé des Écosystèmes, Équipe Écotoxicologie et Qualité des Milieux Aquatiques, Agrocampus Ouest, 65 rue de Saint Brieuc, CS 84215, 35042, Rennes, France
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Pulsford SA, Lindenmayer DB, Driscoll DA. A succession of theories: purging redundancy from disturbance theory. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2014; 91:148-67. [DOI: 10.1111/brv.12163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 125] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2013] [Revised: 10/24/2014] [Accepted: 10/29/2014] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie A. Pulsford
- Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University; 141 Linnaeus Way Canberra Australian Capital Territory 2601 Australia
| | - David B. Lindenmayer
- Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University; 141 Linnaeus Way Canberra Australian Capital Territory 2601 Australia
| | - Don A. Driscoll
- Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University; 141 Linnaeus Way Canberra Australian Capital Territory 2601 Australia
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Donihue CM, Porensky LM, Foufopoulos J, Riginos C, Pringle RM. Glade cascades: indirect legacy effects of pastoralism enhance the abundance and spatial structuring of arboreal fauna. Ecology 2013. [DOI: 10.1890/12-0856.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Stewart RI, Dossena M, Bohan DA, Jeppesen E, Kordas RL, Ledger ME, Meerhoff M, Moss B, Mulder C, Shurin JB, Suttle B, Thompson R, Trimmer M, Woodward G. Mesocosm Experiments as a Tool for Ecological Climate-Change Research. ADV ECOL RES 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-417199-2.00002-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 176] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
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Ledger ME, Brown LE, Edwards FK, Hudson LN, Milner AM, Woodward G. Extreme Climatic Events Alter Aquatic Food Webs. ADV ECOL RES 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-417199-2.00006-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
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Grantham TE, Cañedo-Argüelles M, Perrée I, Rieradevall M, Prat N. A mesocosm approach for detecting stream invertebrate community responses to treated wastewater effluent. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2012; 160:95-102. [PMID: 22035931 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2011.09.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2011] [Revised: 09/10/2011] [Accepted: 09/14/2011] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
The discharge of wastewater from sewage treatment plants is one of the most common forms of pollution to river ecosystems, yet the effects on aquatic invertebrate assemblages have not been investigated in a controlled experimental setting. Here, we use a mesocosm approach to evaluate community responses to exposure to different concentrations of treated wastewater effluents over a two week period. Multivariate analysis using Principal Response Curves indicated a clear, dose-effect response to the treatments, with significant changes in macroinvertebrate assemblages after one week when exposed to 30% effluent, and after two weeks in the 15% and 30% effluent treatments. Treatments were associated with an increase in nutrient concentrations (ammonium, sulfate, and phosphate) and reduction of dissolved oxygen. These findings indicate that exposure to wastewater effluent cause significant changes in abundance and composition of macroinvertebrate taxa and that effluent concentration as low as 5% can have detectable ecological effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theodore E Grantham
- Grup de Recerca Freshwater Ecology and Management (FEM), Departament d'Ecologia, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
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Brown LE, Edwards FK, Milner AM, Woodward G, Ledger ME. Food web complexity and allometric scaling relationships in stream mesocosms: implications for experimentation. J Anim Ecol 2011; 80:884-95. [PMID: 21418207 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2656.2011.01814.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
1. Mesocosms are used extensively by ecologists to gain a mechanistic understanding of ecosystems based on the often untested assumption that these systems can replicate the key attributes of natural assemblages. 2. Previous investigations of stream mesocosm utility have explored community composition, but here for the first time, we extend the approach to consider the replicability and realism of food webs in four outdoor channels (4 m(2)). 3. The four food webs were similarly complex, consisting of diverse assemblages (61-71 taxa) with dense feeding interactions (directed connectance 0.09-0.11). Mesocosm food web structural attributes were within the range reported for 82 well-characterized food webs from natural streams and rivers. When compared with 112 additional food webs from standing freshwater, marine, estuarine and terrestrial environments, stream food webs (including mesocosms) had similar characteristic path lengths, but typically lower mean food chain length and exponents for the species-link relationship. 4. Body size (M) abundance (N) allometric scaling coefficients for trivariate taxonomic mesocosm food webs (-0.53 to -0.49) and individual size distributions (-0.60 to -0.58) were consistent and similar to those from natural systems, suggesting that patterns of energy flux between mesocosm consumers and resources were realistic approximations. 5. These results suggest that stream mesocosms of this scale can support replicate food webs with a degree of biocomplexity that is comparable to 'natural' streams. The findings highlight the potential value of mesocosms as model systems for performing experimental manipulations to test ecological theories, at spatiotemporal scales of relevance to natural ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lee E Brown
- School of Geography, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
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Arscott DB, Larned S, Scarsbrook MR, Lambert P. Aquatic invertebrate community structure along an intermittence gradient: Selwyn River, New Zealand. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010. [DOI: 10.1899/08-124.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- David B. Arscott
- National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 8602, Christchurch 8440, New Zealand
| | - Scott Larned
- National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 8602, Christchurch 8440, New Zealand
| | - Mike R. Scarsbrook
- National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 8602, Christchurch 8440, New Zealand
| | - Paul Lambert
- National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 8602, Christchurch 8440, New Zealand
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13
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Holomuzki JR, Feminella JW, Power ME. Biotic interactions in freshwater benthic habitats. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010. [DOI: 10.1899/08-044.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Joseph R. Holomuzki
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, 1760 University Drive, The Ohio State University, Mansfield, Ohio 44906-1535 USA
| | - Jack W. Feminella
- Department of Biological Sciences, 331 Funchess Hall, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama 36849-5407 USA
| | - Mary E. Power
- Department of Integrative Biology, 4184 Valley Life Sciences Building, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720-3140 USA
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Ledger ME, Harris RML, Armitage PD, Milner AM. Disturbance frequency influences patch dynamics in stream benthic algal communities. Oecologia 2008; 155:809-19. [DOI: 10.1007/s00442-007-0950-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2007] [Revised: 12/10/2007] [Accepted: 12/11/2007] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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