1
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Musin G, Torres MV, Carvalho DDA. Consumer-driven nutrient recycling of freshwater decapods: Linking ecological theories and application in integrated multitrophic aquaculture. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0262972. [PMID: 37883508 PMCID: PMC10602317 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2022] [Accepted: 03/01/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The Metabolic Theory of Ecology (MTE) and the Ecological Stoichiometry Theory (EST) are central and complementary in the consumer-driven recycling conceptual basis. The understanding of physiological processes of organisms is essential to explore and predict nutrient recycling behavior, and to design integrated productive systems that efficiently use the nutrient inputs through an adjusted mass balance. We fed with fish-feed three species of decapods (prawn, anomuran, crab) from different families and with aquacultural potential to explore the animal-mediated nutrient dynamic and its applicability in productive systems. We tested whether body mass, body elemental content, and feeds predict N and P excretion rates and ratios within taxa. We also verified if body content scales allometrically with body mass within taxa. Finally, we compared the nutrient excretion rates and body elemental content among taxa. N excretion rates of prawns and anomurans were negatively related to body mass, emphasizing the importance of MTE. Feed interacted with body mass to explain P excretion of anomurans and N excretion of crabs. Body C:N content positively scaled with body mass in prawns and crabs. Among taxa, prawns mineralised more N and N:P, and less P, and exhibited higher N and C body content (and lower C:N) than the other decapods. Body P and N:P content were different among all species. Body content and body mass were the main factors that explained the differences among taxa and influence the role of crustaceans as nutrient recyclers. These features should be considered to select complementary species that efficiently use feed resources. Prawns need more protein in feed and might be integrated with fish of higher N-requirements, in contrast to crabs and anomurans. Our study contributed to the background of MTE and EST through empirical data obtained from decapods and it provided insightful information to achieve more efficient aquaculture integration systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriela Musin
- Instituto Nacional de Limnología, CONICET and Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Santa Fe, Argentina
| | - María Victoria Torres
- Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica a la Producción, CONICET, Diamante, Entre Ríos, Argentina
- Facultad de Ciencia y Técnica, Universidad Autónoma de Entre Ríos, Entre Ríos, Argentina
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2
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Dunne AF, Tietbohl MD, Nuber C, Berumen M, Jones BH. Fish-mediated nutrient flows from macroalgae habitats to coral reefs in the Red Sea. MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 185:105884. [PMID: 36701826 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2023.105884] [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: 08/23/2022] [Revised: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Macroalgae canopies are common in tropical coastlines, and can be feeding grounds for coral reef fishes. We investigated whether fish transfer algal material from Sargassum-dominated macroalgae habitats to coral reefs by collecting gut contents of two herbivorous fish species (Naso elegans and N. unicornis) from coral reefs in the central Red Sea. On inshore reefs close to macroalgae canopies, Sargassum accounted for up to 41% of these species' gut contents while almost no Sargassum was found in the stomachs of fish on offshore reefs farther from macroalgae canopies. Using consumption and excretion rates from literature, we estimate that these fish consume up to 6.0 mmol C/m2 reef/day and excrete up to 10.8 μmol N/m2 reef/day and 1.0 μmol P/m2 reef/day across inshore reefs as a result of Sargassum consumption. Examining fish-mediated connections between habitats illuminates the role of fish as a vector of nutrition to nutrient-poor coral reefs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aislinn F Dunne
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Red Sea Research Center, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
| | - Matthew D Tietbohl
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Red Sea Research Center, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
| | - Clara Nuber
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Red Sea Research Center, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia; Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), Wilhelmshaven, Germany.
| | - Michael Berumen
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Red Sea Research Center, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
| | - Burton H Jones
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Red Sea Research Center, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
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3
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An S, Yan Z, Song Y, Fu Q, Ge F, Wu Z, An W, Han W. Decoupling of N and P aggravated upward along food chains in an urban river ecosystem. CHEMOSPHERE 2023; 313:137555. [PMID: 36526137 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.137555] [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: 10/17/2022] [Revised: 12/01/2022] [Accepted: 12/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Anthropogenic input of nutrient has profoundly influenced water quality and aquatic organisms, however, large and unbalanced nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) inputs (decoupling) can lead to a range of ecological health problems such as eutrophication. Whether and how the decoupling varies along the aquatic food chain remains poorly addressed. Here we chose an urban river ecosystem in the cosmopolis region of Beijing, with reclaimed water as the entire replenishment water source over 20 years, to demonstrate the decoupling pattern of N vs P across trophic levels. Results showed that organism C, N and P concentration increased, but N:P ratio decreased upward along the food chains, suggesting that this decoupling of N and P increased as trophic level ascends. Compared with natural freshwater ecosystem, the decoupling of N and P was aggravated in the reclaimed water river. Moreover, the homeostasis of N and P were higher at higher relative to lower trophic levels, and higher in macro-food chain relative to planktonic food chain. This study, for the first time, revealed the increasing decoupling of N vs P upward along the major food chains in an urban aquatic ecosystem, and could improve the understanding of nutrient cycling at the food chain level under human disturbance, and provide useful information for ecological restoration and eutrophication control of urban wetlands replenished with reclaimed water.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shenqun An
- College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Zhengbing Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
| | - Ying Song
- Beijing Drainage Group Co., Ltd, Beijing, 100124, China
| | - Qiang Fu
- Beijing Drainage Group Co., Ltd, Beijing, 100124, China
| | - Feiyang Ge
- College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Zehao Wu
- College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Wei An
- Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Science and Technology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China
| | - Wenxuan Han
- College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
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4
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Weeks BC, Klemz M, Wada H, Darling R, Dias T, O'Brien BK, Probst CM, Zhang M, Zimova M. Temperature, size and developmental plasticity in birds. Biol Lett 2022; 18:20220357. [PMID: 36475424 PMCID: PMC9727665 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2022.0357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 11/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
As temperatures increase, there is growing evidence that species across much of the tree of life are getting smaller. These climate change-driven size reductions are often interpreted as a temporal analogue of the observation that individuals within a species tend to be smaller in the warmer parts of the species' range. For ectotherms, there has been a broad effort to understand the role of developmental plasticity in temperature-size relationships, but in endotherms, this mechanism has received relatively little attention in favour of selection-based explanations. We review the evidence for a role of developmental plasticity in warming-driven size reductions in birds and highlight insulin-like growth factors as a potential mechanism underlying plastic responses to temperature in endotherms. We find that, as with ectotherms, changes in temperature during development can result in shifts in body size in birds, with size reductions associated with warmer temperatures being the most frequent association. This suggests developmental plasticity may be an important, but largely overlooked, mechanism underlying warming-driven size reductions in endotherms. Plasticity and natural selection have very different constraining forces, thus understanding the mechanism linking temperature and body size in endotherms has broad implications for predicting future impacts of climate change on biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian C. Weeks
- School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Dana Building, 440 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Madeleine Klemz
- School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Dana Building, 440 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Haruka Wada
- Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA
| | - Rachel Darling
- School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Dana Building, 440 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Tiffany Dias
- School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Dana Building, 440 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Bruce K. O'Brien
- School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Dana Building, 440 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Charlotte M. Probst
- School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Dana Building, 440 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Mingyu Zhang
- School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Dana Building, 440 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Marketa Zimova
- School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Dana Building, 440 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Department of Biology, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, USA
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5
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May EM, El‐Sabaawi RW. Life stage and taxonomy the most important factors determining vertebrate stoichiometry: A meta-analysis. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9354. [PMID: 36203622 PMCID: PMC9526032 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Revised: 07/19/2022] [Accepted: 08/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Whole-body elemental composition is a key trait for determining how organisms influence their ecosystems. Using mass-balance, ecological stoichiometry predicts that animals with higher concentrations of element X will selectively retain more X and will recycle less X in their waste than animals with lower X concentrations. These animals will also store high quantities of X during their lives and after their deaths (prior to full decomposition). Vertebrates may uniquely impact nutrient cycling because they store high quantities of phosphorus (P) in their bones. However, vertebrates have diverse body forms and invest variably in bone. Current analyses of vertebrate elemental content predominately evaluate fishes, typically neglecting other vertebrates and leaving much of the diversity unexplored. We performed a systematic review and identified 179 measurements of whole-body percent phosphorus (%P), percent nitrogen (%N), and N to P ratio (N:P) from 129 unique species of non-fish vertebrates (amphibians: 39 species; reptiles: 19 species; birds: 27 species; mammals: 46 species). We found that %P (mean: 1.94%; SD [standard deviation] = 0.77) and N:P (mean: 12.52) varied with taxonomy and life stage, while %N (mean: 10.51%; SD = 3.25) varied primarily with taxonomy. Habitat, diet, and size had small and inconsistent effects in different groups. Our study highlights two research gaps. Life stage, which is frequently neglected in stoichiometric studies, is an important factor determining vertebrate %P. Furthermore, amphibians dominate our dataset, while other vertebrate taxa are poorly represented in the current literature. Further research into these neglected vertebrate taxa is essential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily M. May
- Department of BiologyUniversity of VictoriaVictoriaBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | - Rana W. El‐Sabaawi
- Department of BiologyUniversity of VictoriaVictoriaBritish ColumbiaCanada
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6
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Oliveira-Cunha P, McIntyre PB, Neres-Lima V, Caliman A, Moreira-Ferreira B, Zandonà E. Body size has primacy over stoichiometric variables in nutrient excretion by a tropical stream fish community. Sci Rep 2022; 12:14844. [PMID: 36050417 PMCID: PMC9436996 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-19149-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Accepted: 08/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Ecological Stoichiometry (ES) and the Metabolic Theory of Ecology (MTE) are the main theories used to explain consumers’ nutrient recycling. ES posits that imbalances between an animal’s body and its diet stoichiometry determine its nutrient excretion rates, whereas the MTE predicts that excretion reflects metabolic activity arising from body size and temperature. We measured nitrogen, phosphorus and N:P excretion, body N:P stoichiometry, body size, and temperature for 12 fish species from a Brazilian stream. We fitted competing models reflecting different combinations of ES (body N:P, armor classification, diet group) and MTE (body size, temperature) variables. Only body size predicted P excretion rates, while N excretion was predicted by body size and time of day. N:P excretion was not explained by any variable. There was no interspecific difference in size-scaling coefficients neither for N nor for P. Fitted size scaling coefficients were lower than the MTE prediction of 0.75 for N (0.58), and for P (0.56). We conclude that differences in nutrient excretion among species within a shared environment primarily reflect contrasts in metabolic rates arising from body size, rather than disparities between consumer and resource stoichiometry. Our findings support the MTE as the primary framework for predicting nutrient excretion rates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priscila Oliveira-Cunha
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Evolução, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rua São Francisco Xavier, 524, Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP 20550-013, Brazil.
| | - Peter B McIntyre
- Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Vinicius Neres-Lima
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Evolução, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rua São Francisco Xavier, 524, Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP 20550-013, Brazil
| | - Adriano Caliman
- Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande Do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil
| | - Beatriz Moreira-Ferreira
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Evolução, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rua São Francisco Xavier, 524, Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP 20550-013, Brazil
| | - Eugenia Zandonà
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Evolução, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rua São Francisco Xavier, 524, Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP 20550-013, Brazil.,Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
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7
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Esquivel KE, Hesselbarth MHK, Allgeier JE. Mechanistic support for increased primary production around artificial reefs. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022; 32:e2617. [PMID: 35368128 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2617] [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: 08/15/2021] [Revised: 01/13/2022] [Accepted: 01/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Understanding factors controlling primary production is fundamental for the protection, management, and restoration of ecosystems. Tropical seagrass ecosystems are among the most productive ecosystems worldwide, yielding tremendous services for society. Yet they are also among the most impaired from anthropogenic stressors, prompting calls for ecosystem-based restoration approaches. Artificial reefs (ARs) are commonly applied in coastal marine ecosystems to rebuild failing fisheries and have recently gained attention for their potential to promote carbon sequestration. Nutrient hotspots formed via excretion from aggregating fishes have been empirically shown to enhance local primary production around ARs in seagrass systems. Yet, if and how increased local production affects primary production at ecosystem scale remains unclear, and empirical tests are challenging. We used a spatially explicit individual-based simulation model that combined a data-rich single-nutrient primary production model for seagrass and bioenergetics models for fish to test how aggregating fish on ARs affect seagrass primary production at patch and ecosystem scales. Specifically, we tested how the aggregation of fish alters (i) ecosystem seagrass primary production at varying fish densities and levels of ambient nutrient availability and (ii) the spatial distribution of seagrass primary production. Comparing model ecosystems with equivalent nutrient levels, we found that when fish aggregate around ARs, ecosystem-scale primary production is enhanced synergistically. This synergistic increase in production was caused by nonlinear dynamics associated with nutrient uptake and biomass allocation that enhances aboveground primary production more than belowground production. Seagrass production increased near the AR and decreased in areas away from the AR, despite marginal reductions in seagrass biomass at the ecosystem level. Our simulation's findings that ARs can increase ecosystem production provide novel support for ARs in seagrass ecosystems as an effective means to promote (i) fishery restoration (increased primary production can increase energy input to the food web) and (ii) carbon sequestration, via higher rates of primary production. Although our model represents a simplified, closed seagrass system without complex trophic interactions, it nonetheless provides an important first step in quantifying ecosystem-level implications of ARs as a tool for ecological restoration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenzo E Esquivel
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | | | - Jacob E Allgeier
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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8
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Wild R, Gücker B, Weitere M, Brauns M. Resource supply and organismal dominance are associated with high secondary production in temperate agricultural streams. Funct Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.14122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Romy Wild
- Dept. River Ecology, Helmholtz‐Centre for Environmental Research UFZ, Brückstraße 3a, D‐39114 Magdeburg Germany
- Chair of Aquatic Systems Biology, Department for Ecology and Ecosystem Management Technical University Munich Freising
| | - Björn Gücker
- Applied Limnology Laboratory, Department of Geosciences Federal University of São João del‐Rei Campus Tancredo Neves São João del‐Rei MG Brazil
| | - Markus Weitere
- Dept. River Ecology, Helmholtz‐Centre for Environmental Research UFZ, Brückstraße 3a, D‐39114 Magdeburg Germany
| | - Mario Brauns
- Dept. River Ecology, Helmholtz‐Centre for Environmental Research UFZ, Brückstraße 3a, D‐39114 Magdeburg Germany
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9
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Arranz I, Fournier B, Lester NP, Shuter BJ, Peres-Neto PR. Species compositions mediate biomass conservation: the case of lake fish communities. Ecology 2021; 103:e3608. [PMID: 34905222 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Revised: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 09/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Environmental and geographical factors are known to influence the number, distribution and combination of species that coexist within ecological communities. This, in turn, should influence ecosystem functions such as biomass conservation, or the ability of a community to sustain biomass from small to large organisms. We tested this hypothesis by assessing the role of environmental factors in determining how biomass is conserved in over 600 limnetic fish communities spread across a broad geographic gradient in Canada. Comprehensive and accurate information on water conditions and community characteristics such as taxonomy, abundance, biomass and size distributions were used in our assessment. Results showed that species combinations emerge as one of the main predictors of biomass conservation among the effects of individual species and abiotic factors. Our study highlights the strong role that geographic patterns in the distribution of species can play in shaping key ecosystem functions, with consequences for ecosystem services such as the provision of harvestable fish biomass.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ignasi Arranz
- Department of Biology, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Bertrand Fournier
- Department of Biology, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Institute of Environmental Science and Geography, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Nigel P Lester
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Science and Research Branch, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Ontario, Canada
| | - Brian J Shuter
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Science and Research Branch, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Ontario, Canada
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10
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Allgeier JE, Weeks BC, Munsterman KS, Wale N, Wenger SJ, Parravicini V, Schiettekatte NMD, Villéger S, Burkepile DE. Phylogenetic conservatism drives nutrient dynamics of coral reef fishes. Nat Commun 2021; 12:5432. [PMID: 34521825 PMCID: PMC8440548 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-25528-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2021] [Accepted: 08/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The relative importance of evolutionary history and ecology for traits that drive ecosystem processes is poorly understood. Consumers are essential drivers of nutrient cycling on coral reefs, and thus ecosystem productivity. We use nine consumer "chemical traits" associated with nutrient cycling, collected from 1,572 individual coral reef fishes (178 species spanning 41 families) in two biogeographic regions, the Caribbean and Polynesia, to quantify the relative importance of phylogenetic history and ecological context as drivers of chemical trait variation on coral reefs. We find: (1) phylogenetic relatedness is the best predictor of all chemical traits, substantially outweighing the importance of ecological factors thought to be key drivers of these traits, (2) phylogenetic conservatism in chemical traits is greater in the Caribbean than Polynesia, where our data suggests that ecological forces have a greater influence on chemical trait variation, and (3) differences in chemical traits between regions can be explained by differences in nutrient limitation associated with the geologic context of our study locations. Our study provides multiple lines of evidence that phylogeny is a critical determinant of contemporary nutrient dynamics on coral reefs. More broadly our findings highlight the utility of evolutionary history to improve prediction in ecosystem ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob E Allgeier
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
| | - Brian C Weeks
- School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Katrina S Munsterman
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Nina Wale
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics and Department of Integrative Biology & Ecology Evolution and Behavior Program, Michigan State University, Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Seth J Wenger
- Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Valeriano Parravicini
- PSL Université Paris: EPHE-UPVD-CNRS, USR 3278 CRIOBE, Université de Perpignan, Perpignan, France.,Laboratoire d'Excellence "CORAIL", Perpignan, France
| | - Nina M D Schiettekatte
- PSL Université Paris: EPHE-UPVD-CNRS, USR 3278 CRIOBE, Université de Perpignan, Perpignan, France.,Laboratoire d'Excellence "CORAIL", Perpignan, France
| | - Sébastien Villéger
- MARBEC, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IFREMER, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Deron E Burkepile
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.,Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
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11
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Giery ST, Drake DL, Urban MC. Microgeographic evolution of metabolic physiology in a salamander metapopulation. Ecology 2021; 102:e03488. [PMID: 34292592 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2020] [Revised: 05/16/2021] [Accepted: 05/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
The Metabolic Theory of Ecology explains ecological variation spanning taxonomic organization, space, and time based on universal physiological relationships. The theory depends on two core parameters: the normalization constant, a mass-independent measure of metabolic rate expected to be invariant among similar species, and the scaling coefficient, a measure of metabolic change with body mass commonly assumed to follow the universal 3/4 scaling law. However, emerging evidence for adaptive microevolution of metabolic rates led us to hypothesize that metabolic rate might exhibit evolved variation among populations on microgeographic scales. To evaluate our hypothesis, we explored evidence for evolved variation in the scaling coefficient and normalization constant within a spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) metapopulation in Connecticut, USA. We measured standard metabolic rate in common-garden raised spotted salamanders from 22 different populations and tested for the effects of six ecological variables suspected in advance to select for divergent physiology. We found that metabolic rate rose with body mass with a log-log slope of 0.97 that was statistically different from the expected 3/4 scaling law. Although we found no evidence for interpopulation variation in the scaling coefficient, we found evidence for interpopulation variation in the normalization constants among populations. Metabolic variation was best explained by differences in population density among ponds. Our results provide mixed support for Metabolic Theory of Ecology assumptions about parameter invariance and illustrate how fundamental physiological processes such as metabolic rate can evolve across microgeographic spatial scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean T Giery
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Center of Biological Risk, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, 06269, USA.,Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, 16802, USA
| | - Dana L Drake
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Center of Biological Risk, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, 06269, USA
| | - Mark C Urban
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Center of Biological Risk, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, 06269, USA
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12
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Munsterman KS, Allgeier JE, Peters JR, Burkepile DE. A View From Both Ends: Shifts in Herbivore Assemblages Impact Top-Down and Bottom-Up Processes on Coral Reefs. Ecosystems 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-021-00612-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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13
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Zandonà E, Moraes M, Neres‐Lima V, Dalton CM, Flecker AS, Mazzoni R. Differences in nutrient mineralisation between native and invasive grazing catfish during the invasion process. AUSTRAL ECOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/aec.12978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Eugenia Zandonà
- Departamento de Ecologia Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro Rua São Francisco Xavier 524 Rio de Janeiro RJ20550‐013Brazil
| | - Maíra Moraes
- Departamento de Ecologia Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro Rua São Francisco Xavier 524 Rio de Janeiro RJ20550‐013Brazil
- Universidade Veiga de Almeida Rio de Janeiro RJ Brazil
| | - Vinicius Neres‐Lima
- Departamento de Ecologia Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro Rua São Francisco Xavier 524 Rio de Janeiro RJ20550‐013Brazil
| | - Christopher M. Dalton
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Cornell University Ithaca New York USA
| | - Alexander S. Flecker
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Cornell University Ithaca New York USA
| | - Rosana Mazzoni
- Departamento de Ecologia Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro Rua São Francisco Xavier 524 Rio de Janeiro RJ20550‐013Brazil
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14
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Allgeier JE, Wenger S, Layman CA. Taxonomic identity best explains variation in body nutrient stoichiometry in a diverse marine animal community. Sci Rep 2020; 10:13718. [PMID: 32792497 PMCID: PMC7426267 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-67881-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2020] [Accepted: 06/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Animal-mediated nutrient dynamics are critical processes in ecosystems. Previous research has found animal-mediated nutrient supply (excretion) to be highly predictable based on allometric scaling, but similar efforts to find universal predictive relationships for an organism’s body nutrient content have been inconclusive. We use a large dataset from a diverse tropical marine community to test three frameworks for predicting body nutrient content. We show that body nutrient content does not follow allometric scaling laws and that it is not well explained by trophic status. Instead, we find strong support for taxonomic identity (particularly at the family level) as a predictor of body nutrient content, indicating that evolutionary history plays a crucial role in determining an organism’s composition. We further find that nutrients are “stoichiometrically linked” (e.g., %C predicts %N), but that the direction of these relationships does not always conform to expectations, especially for invertebrates. Our findings demonstrate that taxonomic identity, not trophic status or body size, is the best baseline from which to predict organismal body nutrient content.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob E Allgeier
- Department of Ecology, and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
| | - Seth Wenger
- Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Craig A Layman
- Department of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
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15
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Yates MC, Glaser DM, Post JR, Cristescu ME, Fraser DJ, Derry AM. The relationship between eDNA particle concentration and organism abundance in nature is strengthened by allometric scaling. Mol Ecol 2020; 30:3068-3082. [PMID: 32638451 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2020] [Revised: 06/15/2020] [Accepted: 06/26/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Organism abundance is a critical parameter in ecology, but its estimation is often challenging. Approaches utilizing eDNA to indirectly estimate abundance have recently generated substantial interest. However, preliminary correlations observed between eDNA concentration and abundance in nature are typically moderate in strength with significant unexplained variation. Here, we apply a novel approach to integrate allometric scaling coefficients into models of eDNA concentration and organism abundance. We hypothesize that eDNA particle production scales nonlinearly with mass, with scaling coefficients < 1. Wild populations often exhibit substantial variation in individual body size distributions; we therefore predict that the distribution of mass across individuals within a population will influence population-level eDNA production rates. To test our hypothesis, we collected standardized body size distribution and mark-recapture abundance data using whole-lake experiments involving nine populations of brook trout. We correlated eDNA concentration with three metrics of abundance: density (individuals/ha), biomass (kg/ha) and allometrically scaled mass (ASM) (∑(individual mass0.73 )/ha). Density and biomass were both significantly positively correlated with eDNA concentration (adj. r2 = 0.59 and 0.63, respectively), but ASM exhibited improved model fit (adj. r2 = 0.78). We also demonstrate how estimates of ASM derived from eDNA samples in "unknown" systems can be converted to biomass or density estimates with additional size-structure data. Future experiments should empirically validate allometric scaling coefficients for eDNA production, particularly where substantial intraspecific size distribution variation exists. Incorporating allometric scaling may improve predictive models to the extent that eDNA concentration may become a reliable indicator of abundance in nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- M C Yates
- Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - D M Glaser
- University of Calgary Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - J R Post
- University of Calgary Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | | | - D J Fraser
- Concordia University Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - A M Derry
- Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
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16
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Schiettekatte NMD, Barneche DR, Villéger S, Allgeier JE, Burkepile DE, Brandl SJ, Casey JM, Mercière A, Munsterman KS, Morat F, Parravicini V. Nutrient limitation, bioenergetics and stoichiometry: A new model to predict elemental fluxes mediated by fishes. Funct Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Nina M. D. Schiettekatte
- PSL Université Paris: EPHE‐UPVD‐CNRS USR 3278 CRIOBE Université de Perpignan Perpignan France
- Laboratoire d'Excellence “CORAIL” Perpignan France
| | - Diego R. Barneche
- Australian Institute of Marine Science Crawley WA Australia
- Oceans InstituteThe University of Western Australia Crawley WA Australia
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Exeter Penryn UK
| | | | - Jacob E. Allgeier
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI USA
| | - Deron E. Burkepile
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology University of California Santa Barbara CA USA
- Marine Science Institute University of California Santa Barbara CA USA
| | - Simon J. Brandl
- Department of Biological Sciences Simon Fraser University Burnaby BC Canada
| | - Jordan M. Casey
- PSL Université Paris: EPHE‐UPVD‐CNRS USR 3278 CRIOBE Université de Perpignan Perpignan France
- Laboratoire d'Excellence “CORAIL” Perpignan France
| | - Alexandre Mercière
- PSL Université Paris: EPHE‐UPVD‐CNRS USR 3278 CRIOBE Université de Perpignan Perpignan France
- Laboratoire d'Excellence “CORAIL” Perpignan France
| | - Katrina S. Munsterman
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI USA
| | - Fabien Morat
- PSL Université Paris: EPHE‐UPVD‐CNRS USR 3278 CRIOBE Université de Perpignan Perpignan France
- Laboratoire d'Excellence “CORAIL” Perpignan France
| | - Valeriano Parravicini
- PSL Université Paris: EPHE‐UPVD‐CNRS USR 3278 CRIOBE Université de Perpignan Perpignan France
- Laboratoire d'Excellence “CORAIL” Perpignan France
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17
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Biodiversity increases ecosystem functions despite multiple stressors on coral reefs. Nat Ecol Evol 2020; 4:919-926. [PMID: 32424279 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-020-1203-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2019] [Accepted: 04/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Positive relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (BEF) highlight the importance of conserving biodiversity to maintain key ecosystem functions and associated services. Although natural systems are rapidly losing biodiversity due to numerous human-caused stressors, our understanding of how multiple stressors influence BEF relationships comes largely from small, experimental studies. Here, using remote assemblages of coral reef fishes, we demonstrate strong, non-saturating relationships of biodiversity with two ecosystem functions: biomass and productivity. These positive relationships were robust both to an extreme heatwave that triggered coral bleaching and to invasive rats which disrupt nutrient subsidies from native seabirds. Despite having only minor effects on BEF relationships, both stressors still decreased ecosystem functioning via other pathways. The extreme heatwave reduced biodiversity, which, due to the strong BEF relationships, ultimately diminished both ecosystem functions. Conversely, the loss of cross-system nutrient subsidies directly decreased biomass. These results demonstrate multiple ways by which human-caused stressors can reduce ecosystem functioning, despite robust BEF relationships, in natural high-diversity assemblages.
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18
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Allgeier JE, Cline TJ, Walsworth TE, Wathen G, Layman CA, Schindler DE. Individual behavior drives ecosystem function and the impacts of harvest. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:eaax8329. [PMID: 32133397 PMCID: PMC7043911 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aax8329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2019] [Accepted: 12/06/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Current approaches for biodiversity conservation and management focus on sustaining high levels of diversity among species to maintain ecosystem function. We show that the diversity among individuals within a single population drives function at the ecosystem scale. Specifically, nutrient supply from individual fish differs from the population average >80% of the time, and accounting for this individual variation nearly doubles estimates of nutrients supplied to the ecosystem. We test how management (i.e., selective harvest regimes) can alter ecosystem function and find that strategies targeting more active individuals reduce nutrient supply to the ecosystem up to 69%, a greater effect than body size-selective or nonselective harvest. Findings show that movement behavior at the scale of the individual can have crucial repercussions for the functioning of an entire ecosystem, proving an important challenge to the species-centric definition of biodiversity if the conservation and management of ecosystem function is a primary goal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob E. Allgeier
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Timothy J. Cline
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | | | - Gus Wathen
- Eco Logical Research Inc., Providence, UT, USA
| | - Craig A. Layman
- Department of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Daniel E. Schindler
- School of Aquatic and Fisheries Science, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
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19
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Peters JR, Reed DC, Burkepile DE. Climate and fishing drive regime shifts in consumer-mediated nutrient cycling in kelp forests. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2019; 25:3179-3192. [PMID: 31119829 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14706] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2019] [Revised: 05/14/2019] [Accepted: 05/17/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Globally, anthropogenic pressures are reducing the abundances of marine species and altering ecosystems through modification of trophic interactions. Yet, consumer declines also disrupt important bottom-up processes, like nutrient recycling, which are critical for ecosystem functioning. Consumer-mediated nutrient dynamics (CND) is now considered a major biogeochemical component of most ecosystems, but lacking long-term studies, it is difficult to predict how CND will respond to accelerating disturbances in the wake of global change. To aid such predictions, we coupled empirical ammonium excretion rates with an 18-year time series of the standing biomass of common benthic macroinvertebrates in southern California kelp forests. This time series of excretion rates encompassed an extended period of extreme ocean warming, disease outbreaks, and the abolishment of fishing at two of our study sites, allowing us to assess kelp forest CND across a wide range of environmental conditions. At their peak, reef invertebrates supplied an average of 18.3 ± 3.0 µmol NH4 + m-2 hr-1 to kelp forests when sea stars were regionally abundant, but dropped to 3.5 ± 1.0 µmol NH4 + m-2 hr-1 following their mass mortality due to disease during a prolonged period of extreme warming. However, a coincident increase in the abundance of the California spiny lobster, Palinurus interupptus (Randall, 1840), likely in response to both reduced fishing and a warmer ocean, compensated for much of the recycled ammonium lost to sea star mortality. Both lobsters and sea stars are widely recognized as key predators that can profoundly influence community structure in benthic marine systems. Our study is the first to demonstrate their importance in nutrient cycling, thus expanding their roles in the ecosystem. Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of warming events, and rising human populations are intensifying fishing pressure in coastal ecosystems worldwide. Our study documents how these projected global changes can drive regime shifts in CND and fundamentally alter a critical ecosystem function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph R Peters
- Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, California
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, & Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California
| | - Daniel C Reed
- Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, California
| | - Deron E Burkepile
- Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, California
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, & Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California
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20
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Halvorson HM, Fuller CL, Entrekin SA, Scott JT, Evans-White MA. Interspecific homeostatic regulation and growth across aquatic invertebrate detritivores: a test of ecological stoichiometry theory. Oecologia 2019; 190:229-242. [PMID: 31062165 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-019-04409-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2018] [Accepted: 04/29/2019] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Across resource quality gradients, primary consumers must regulate homeostasis and release of nutrients to optimize growth and fitness. Based primarily on internal body composition, the ecological stoichiometry theory (EST) offers a framework to generalize interspecific patterns of these responses, yet the predictions and underlying assumptions of EST remain poorly tested across many species. We used controlled laboratory feeding experiments to measure homeostasis, nutrient release, and growth across seven field-collected aquatic invertebrate detritivore taxa fed wide resource carbon:nitrogen (C:N) and carbon:phosphorus (C:P) gradients. We found that most invertebrates exhibited strict stoichiometric homeostasis (average 1/H = - 0.018 and 0.026 for C:N and C:P, respectively), supporting assumptions of EST. However, the stoichiometry of new tissue production during growth intervals (growth stoichiometry) deviated - 30 to + 54% and - 145 to + 74% from initial body C:N and C:P, respectively, and across species, growth stoichiometry was not correlated with initial body stoichiometry. Notably, smaller non- and hemimetabolous invertebrates exhibited low, decreasing growth C:N and C:P, whereas larger holometabolous invertebrates exhibited high, often increasing growth C:N and C:P. Despite predictions of EST, interspecific sensitivity of egestion stoichiometry and growth rates to the resource gradient were weakly related to internal body composition across species. While the sensitivity of these patterns differed across taxa, such differences carried a weak phylogenetic signal and were not well predicted by EST. Our findings suggest that traits beyond internal body composition, such as feeding behavior, selective assimilation, and ontogeny, are needed to generalize interspecific patterns in consumer growth and nutrient release across resource quality gradients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Halvor M Halvorson
- School of Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USA.
| | | | - Sally A Entrekin
- Department of Entomology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - J Thad Scott
- Department of Biology, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA
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21
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Williams JJ, Papastamatiou YP, Caselle JE, Bradley D, Jacoby DMP. Correction to: ‘Mobile marine predators: an understudied source of nutrients to coral reefs in an unfished atoll’. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20190246. [DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.0246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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22
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Parr TB, Capps KA, Inamdar SP, Metcalf KA. Animal‐mediated organic matter transformation: Aquatic insects as a source of microbially bioavailable organic nutrients and energy. Funct Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas B. Parr
- Department of Plant and Soil Science University of Delaware Newark Delaware
| | - Krista A. Capps
- Odum School of Ecology University of Georgia Athens Georgia
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory Aiken South Carolina
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23
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Subalusky AL, Post DM. Context dependency of animal resource subsidies. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2018; 94:517-538. [DOI: 10.1111/brv.12465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2017] [Revised: 08/24/2018] [Accepted: 08/30/2018] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Amanda L. Subalusky
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Yale University New Haven CT 06511 U.S.A
- Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies Millbrook NY 12545 U.S.A
| | - David M. Post
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Yale University New Haven CT 06511 U.S.A
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24
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Moody EK, Carson EW, Corman JR, Espinosa-Pérez H, Ramos J, Sabo JL, Elser JJ. Consumption explains intraspecific variation in nutrient recycling stoichiometry in a desert fish. Ecology 2018; 99:1552-1561. [PMID: 29882955 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2018] [Revised: 03/30/2018] [Accepted: 04/12/2018] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Consumer-driven nutrient recycling can have substantial effects on primary production and patterns of nutrient limitation in aquatic ecosystems by altering the rates as well as the relative supplies of the key nutrients nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). While variation in nutrient recycling stoichiometry has been well-studied among species, the mechanisms that explain intraspecific variation in recycling N:P are not well-understood. We examined the relative importance of potential drivers of variation in nutrient recycling by the fish Gambusia marshi among aquatic habitats in the Cuatro Ciénegas basin of Coahuila, Mexico. There, G. marshi inhabits warm thermal springs with high predation pressure as well as cooler, surface runoff-fed systems with low predation pressure. We hypothesized that variation in food consumption among these habitats would drive intraspecific differences in excretion rates and N:P ratios. Stoichiometric models predicted that temperature alone should not cause substantial variation in excretion N:P, but that further reducing consumption rates should substantially increase excretion N:P. We performed temperature and diet ration manipulation experiments in the laboratory and found strong support for model predictions. We then tested these predictions in the field by measuring nutrient recycling rates and ratios as well as body stoichiometry of fish from nine sites that vary in temperature and predation pressure. Fish from warm, high-predation sites excreted nutrients at a lower N:P ratio than fish from cool, low-predation sites, consistent with the hypothesis that reduced consumption under reduced predation pressure had stronger consequences for P retention and excretion among populations than did variation in body stoichiometry. These results highlight the utility of stoichiometric models for predicting variation in consumer-driven nutrient recycling within a phenotypically variable species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric K Moody
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, 85287, USA
| | - Evan W Carson
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bay-Delta Fish and Wildlife Office, Sacramento, California, 95814, USA
| | - Jessica R Corman
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, 85287, USA
| | - Hector Espinosa-Pérez
- Colecciόn Nacional de Peces, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autόnoma de México, México D.F, México
| | - Jorge Ramos
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, 85287, USA
| | - John L Sabo
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, 85287, USA
| | - James J Elser
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, 85287, USA.,Flathead Lake Biological Station, University of Montana, Polson, Montana, 59860, USA
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25
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Balik JA, Taylor BW, Washko SE, Wissinger SA. High interspecific variation in nutrient excretion within a guild of closely related caddisfly species. Ecosphere 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jared A. Balik
- Departments of Biology and Environmental Science Allegheny College Meadville Pennsylvania 16335 USA
- Department of Applied Ecology North Carolina State University Raleigh North Carolina 27695 USA
- Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory PO Box 519 Crested Butte Colorado 81224 USA
| | - Brad W. Taylor
- Department of Applied Ecology North Carolina State University Raleigh North Carolina 27695 USA
- Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory PO Box 519 Crested Butte Colorado 81224 USA
| | - Susan E. Washko
- Departments of Biology and Environmental Science Allegheny College Meadville Pennsylvania 16335 USA
- Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory PO Box 519 Crested Butte Colorado 81224 USA
- Department of Watershed Sciences Utah State University Logan Utah 84321 USA
| | - Scott A. Wissinger
- Departments of Biology and Environmental Science Allegheny College Meadville Pennsylvania 16335 USA
- Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory PO Box 519 Crested Butte Colorado 81224 USA
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26
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Fish movement drives spatial and temporal patterns of nutrient provisioning on coral reef patches. Ecosphere 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
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27
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Cozzoli F, Bouma TJ, Ottolander P, Lluch MS, Ysebaert T, Herman PMJ. The combined influence of body size and density on cohesive sediment resuspension by bioturbators. Sci Rep 2018; 8:3831. [PMID: 29497095 PMCID: PMC5832813 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-22190-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2017] [Accepted: 02/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
We propose an empirical framework to scale the effects of bioturbation on sediment resuspension to population bioturbation activity, approximated as population metabolic rate. Individual metabolic rates have been estimated as functions of body size and extrapolated to population level. We used experimental flumes to test this approach across different types of marine, soft-sediment bioturbators. We observed that a large part of the variance in biota-mediated sediment resuspension can be explained by a positive relationship with population metabolic rate. Other mechanisms can strongly influence the outcome, such as bioturbation of deep sediment strata, biotic interactions with hydrodynamic stress and overlapping areas of influence must be further investigated. By relating the biota-mediated changes in resuspended sediment to metabolism, we can place our observations within the broader context of the metabolic theory of ecology and to formulate general expectations about changes in biota-mediated sediment resuspension in response to changes in population structure and climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Cozzoli
- Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, Royal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research (NIOZ) and Utrecht University, Yerseke, The Netherlands.
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche ed Ambientali, Centro Ecotekne Pal. B S.P. 6, Lecce, Monteroni, Lecce, Italy.
| | - Tjeerd J Bouma
- Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, Royal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research (NIOZ) and Utrecht University, Yerseke, The Netherlands
| | - Pauline Ottolander
- Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, Royal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research (NIOZ) and Utrecht University, Yerseke, The Netherlands
| | - Maria Salvador Lluch
- Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, Royal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research (NIOZ) and Utrecht University, Yerseke, The Netherlands
| | - Tom Ysebaert
- Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, Royal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research (NIOZ) and Utrecht University, Yerseke, The Netherlands
- Institute for Marine Resources and Ecosystem Studies (IMARES), Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Peter M J Herman
- Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, Royal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research (NIOZ) and Utrecht University, Yerseke, The Netherlands
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28
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Dalton CM, El-Sabaawi RW, Honeyfield DC, Auer SK, Reznick DN, Flecker AS. The influence of dietary and whole-body nutrient content on the excretion of a vertebrate consumer. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0187931. [PMID: 29176898 PMCID: PMC5703491 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0187931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2017] [Accepted: 10/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
In many contexts, nutrient excretion by consumers can impact ecosystems by altering the availability of limiting nutrients. Variation in nutrient excretion can be predicted by mass balance models, most of which are premised on two key ideas: (1) consumers maintain fixed whole-body nutrient content (i.e., %N and %P), so-called fixed homeostasis; (2) if dietary nutrients are not matched to whole-body nutrients, excesses of any nutrient are released as excretion to maintain fixed homeostasis. Mass balance models thus predict that consumer excretion should be positively correlated with diet nutrients and negatively correlated with whole-body nutrients. Recent meta-analyses and field studies, however, have often failed to find these expected patterns, potentially because of a confounding influence—flexibility in whole-body nutrient content with diet quality (flexible homeostasis). Here, we explore the impact of flexible homeostasis on nutrient excretion by comparing the N and P excretion of four genetically diverged Trinidadian guppy (Poecilia reticulata) populations when reared on diets of variable P content. As predicted by mass balance, P excretion increased on the high-P diet, but, contrary to the notion of fixed homeostasis, guppy whole-body %P also increased on the high-P diet. While there was no overall correlation between excretion nutrients and whole-body nutrients, when the effect of diet on both whole-body and excretion nutrients was included, we detected the expected negative correlation between whole-body N:P and excretion N:P. This last result suggests that mass balance can predict excretion rates within species, but only if dietary effects on whole-body nutrient content are controlled. Flexible homeostasis can obscure patterns predicted by mass balance, creating an imperative to accurately capture an organism’s diet quality in predicting its excretion rate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher M. Dalton
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Rana W. El-Sabaawi
- Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria British Columbia, Canada
| | - Dale C. Honeyfield
- Northern Appalachian Research Lab, United States Geological Survey, Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Sonya K. Auer
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - David N. Reznick
- Department of Biology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, California, United States of America
| | - Alexander S. Flecker
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
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29
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El-Sabaawi RW. How Fishes Can Help Us Answer Important Questions about the Ecological Consequences of Evolution. COPEIA 2017. [DOI: 10.1643/ot-16-530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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30
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Allgeier JE, Burkepile DE, Layman CA. Animal pee in the sea: consumer-mediated nutrient dynamics in the world's changing oceans. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2017; 23:2166-2178. [PMID: 28217892 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2016] [Revised: 12/05/2016] [Accepted: 12/19/2016] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Humans have drastically altered the abundance of animals in marine ecosystems via exploitation. Reduced abundance can destabilize food webs, leading to cascading indirect effects that dramatically reorganize community structure and shift ecosystem function. However, the additional implications of these top-down changes for biogeochemical cycles via consumer-mediated nutrient dynamics (CND) are often overlooked in marine systems, particularly in coastal areas. Here, we review research that underscores the importance of this bottom-up control at local, regional, and global scales in coastal marine ecosystems, and the potential implications of anthropogenic change to fundamentally alter these processes. We focus attention on the two primary ways consumers affect nutrient dynamics, with emphasis on implications for the nutrient capacity of ecosystems: (1) the storage and retention of nutrients in biomass, and (2) the supply of nutrients via excretion and egestion. Nutrient storage in consumer biomass may be especially important in many marine ecosystems because consumers, as opposed to producers, often dominate organismal biomass. As for nutrient supply, we emphasize how consumers enhance primary production through both press and pulse dynamics. Looking forward, we explore the importance of CDN for improving theory (e.g., ecological stoichiometry, metabolic theory, and biodiversity-ecosystem function relationships), all in the context of global environmental change. Increasing research focus on CND will likely transform our perspectives on how consumers affect the functioning of marine ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob E Allgeier
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Deron E Burkepile
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Craig A Layman
- Department of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
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Halvorson HM, Hall DJ, Evans‐White MA. Long‐term stoichiometry and fates highlight animal egestion as nutrient repackaging, not recycling, in aquatic ecosystems. Funct Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Halvor M. Halvorson
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Arkansas Fayetteville AR72701 USA
| | - Delaney J. Hall
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Arkansas Fayetteville AR72701 USA
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Wiff R, Barrientos MA, Segura AM, Milessi AC. The invariance of production per unit of food consumed in fish populations. Theory Biosci 2017; 136:179-185. [PMID: 28160202 DOI: 10.1007/s12064-017-0241-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2015] [Accepted: 01/19/2017] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
The amount of biomass production per unit of food consumed (P/Q) represents an important quantity in ecosystem functioning, because it indicates how efficient a population transforms ingested food into biomass. Several investigations have noticed that P/Q remains relatively constant (or invariant) across fish population that feed at the same food-type level (carnivorous/herbivorous). Nevertheless, theoretical explanation for this invariant is still lacking. In this paper, we demonstrate that P/Q remains invariant across fish populations with stable-age distribution. Three key assumptions underpin the P/Q invariant: (1) the ratio between natural mortality M and von Bertalanffy growth parameter k (M/k ratio) should remain invariant across fish populations; (2) a parameter defining the fraction of ingested food available for growth needs to remain constant across fish that feed at the same trophic level; (3) third, the ratio between length at age 0 ([Formula: see text]) and asymptotic length ([Formula: see text]) should be constant across fish populations. The influence of these assumptions on the P/Q estimates were numerically assessed considering fish populations of different lifespan. Numerical evaluations show that the most critical condition highly relates to the first assumption, M/k. Results are discussed in the context of the reliability of the required assumption to consider the P/Q invariant in stable-age distributed fish populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Wiff
- Center for Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Avenida Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins 340, Santiago, Chile.
| | - M A Barrientos
- Instituto de Matemáticas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Blanco Viel 596, Cerro Barón, Valparaiso, Chile
| | - A M Segura
- Modelización y análisis de recursos naturales (MAREN), CURE Rocha, Universidad de la República, Ruta 9 km 210, 27000, Rocha, Uruguay
| | - A C Milessi
- Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, La Plata, Argentina.,Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Pesquero (INIDEP), Paseo Victoria Ocampo No. 1, 7600, Mar del Plata, Argentina
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33
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Atkinson CL, Capps KA, Rugenski AT, Vanni MJ. Consumer-driven nutrient dynamics in freshwater ecosystems: from individuals to ecosystems. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2016; 92:2003-2023. [DOI: 10.1111/brv.12318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 124] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2016] [Revised: 11/14/2016] [Accepted: 11/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Carla L. Atkinson
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Alabama; Tuscaloosa AL 35487 U.S.A
| | - Krista A. Capps
- Odum School of Ecology; University of Georgia; Athens GA 30602 U.S.A
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory; University of Georgia; Aiken SC 29808 U.S.A
| | - Amanda T. Rugenski
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Cornell University; Ithaca NY 14853 U.S.A
| | - Michael J. Vanni
- Department of Biology and Graduate Program in Ecology Evolution and Environmental Biology; Miami University; Oxford OH 45056 U.S.A
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Vanni MJ, McIntyre PB. Predicting nutrient excretion of aquatic animals with metabolic ecology and ecological stoichiometry: a global synthesis. Ecology 2016; 97:3460-3471. [DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2016] [Revised: 08/03/2016] [Accepted: 08/23/2016] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Peter B. McIntyre
- Center for Limnology University of Wisconsin Madison Wisconsin 53706 USA
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Allen JL, Chown SL, Janion-Scheepers C, Clusella-Trullas S. Interactions between rates of temperature change and acclimation affect latitudinal patterns of warming tolerance. CONSERVATION PHYSIOLOGY 2016; 4:cow053. [PMID: 27933165 PMCID: PMC5142048 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/cow053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2016] [Revised: 10/11/2016] [Accepted: 10/17/2016] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Critical thermal limits form an increasing component of the estimation of impacts of global change on ectotherms. Whether any consistent patterns exist in the interactive effects of rates of temperature change (or experimental ramping rates) and acclimation on critical thermal limits and warming tolerance (one way of assessing sensitivity to climate change) is, however, far from clear. Here, we examine the interacting effects of ramping rate and acclimation on the critical thermal maxima (CTmax) and minima (CTmin) and warming tolerance of six species of springtails from sub-tropical, temperate and polar regions. We also provide microhabitat temperatures from 26 sites spanning 5 years in order to benchmark environmentally relevant rates of temperature change. Ramping rate has larger effects than acclimation on CTmax, but the converse is true for CTmin. Responses to rate and acclimation effects are more consistent among species for CTmax than for CTmin. In the latter case, interactions among ramping rate and acclimation are typical of polar species, less marked for temperate ones, and reduced in species from the sub-tropics. Ramping rate and acclimation have substantial effects on estimates of warming tolerance, with the former being more marked. At the fastest ramping rates (>1.0°C/min), tropical species have estimated warming tolerances similar to their temperate counterparts, whereas at slow ramping rates (<0.4°C/min) the warming tolerance is much reduced in tropical species. Rates of temperate change in microhabitats relevant to the springtails are typically <0.05°C/min, with rare maxima of 0.3-0.5°C/min depending on the site. These findings emphasize the need to consider the environmental setting and experimental conditions when assessing species' vulnerability to climate change using a warming tolerance approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica L Allen
- Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology,
Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa
| | - Steven L Chown
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800,
Australia
| | | | - Susana Clusella-Trullas
- Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology,
Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa
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36
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Downs KN, Hayes NM, Rock AM, Vanni MJ, González MJ. Light and nutrient supply mediate intraspecific variation in the nutrient stoichiometry of juvenile fish. Ecosphere 2016. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.1452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Kelsea N. Downs
- Department of Biology Miami University Oxford Ohio 45056 USA
| | - Nicole M. Hayes
- Department of Biology Miami University Oxford Ohio 45056 USA
- Graduate Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology Miami University Oxford Ohio 45056 USA
| | - Amber M. Rock
- Department of Biology Miami University Oxford Ohio 45056 USA
- Graduate Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology Miami University Oxford Ohio 45056 USA
| | - Michael J. Vanni
- Department of Biology Miami University Oxford Ohio 45056 USA
- Graduate Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology Miami University Oxford Ohio 45056 USA
| | - María J. González
- Department of Biology Miami University Oxford Ohio 45056 USA
- Graduate Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology Miami University Oxford Ohio 45056 USA
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Tuckett QM, Kinnison MT, Saros JE, Simon KS. Population divergence in fish elemental phenotypes associated with trophic phenotypes and lake trophic state. Oecologia 2016; 182:765-78. [PMID: 27568028 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-016-3714-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2015] [Accepted: 08/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Studies of ecological stoichiometry typically emphasize the role of interspecific variation in body elemental content and the effects of species or family identity. Recent work suggests substantial variation in body stoichiometry can also exist within species. The importance of this variation will depend on insights into its origins and consequences at various ecological scales, including the distribution of elemental phenotypes across landscapes and their role in nutrient recycling. We investigated whether trophic divergence can produce predictable patterns of elemental phenotypes among populations of an invasive fish, the white perch (Morone americana), and whether elemental phenotypes predict nutrient excretion. White perch populations exhibited a gradient of trophic phenotypes associated with landscape-scale variation in lake trophic state. Perch body chemistry varied considerably among lakes (from 0.09 for % C to 0.31-fold for % P) casting doubt on the assumption of homogenous elemental phenotypes. This variation was correlated with divergence in fish body shape and other trophic traits. Elemental phenotypes covaried (r (2) up to 0.84) with lake trophic state. This covariation likely arose in contemporary time since many of these perch populations were introduced in the last century and the trophic state in many of the lakes has changed in the past few decades. Nutrient excretion varied extensively among populations, but was not readily related to fish body chemistry or lake trophic state. This suggests that predictable patterns of fish body composition can arise quickly through trophic specialization to lake conditions, but such elemental phenotypes may not translate to altered nutrient recycling by fish.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quenton M Tuckett
- School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine, Orono, ME, 04469, USA. .,Tropical Aquaculture Laboratory, University of Florida, Ruskin, FL, 33570, USA.
| | - Michael T Kinnison
- School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine, Orono, ME, 04469, USA
| | - Jasmine E Saros
- School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine, Orono, ME, 04469, USA
| | - Kevin S Simon
- School of Environment, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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Abstract
Fishing is widely considered a leading cause of biodiversity loss in marine environments, but the potential effect on ecosystem processes, such as nutrient fluxes, is less explored. Here, we test how fishing on Caribbean coral reefs influences biodiversity and ecosystem functions provided by the fish community, that is, fish-mediated nutrient capacity. Specifically, we modelled five processes of nutrient storage (in biomass) and supply (via excretion) of nutrients, as well as a measure of their multifunctionality, onto 143 species of coral reef fishes across 110 coral reef fish communities. These communities span a gradient from extreme fishing pressure to protected areas with little to no fishing. We find that in fished sites fish-mediated nutrient capacity is reduced almost 50%, despite no substantial changes in the number of species. Instead, changes in community size and trophic structure were the primary cause of shifts in ecosystem function. These findings suggest that a broader perspective that incorporates predictable impacts of fishing pressure on ecosystem function is imperative for effective coral reef conservation and management.
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Sperfeld E, Halvorson HM, Malishev M, Clissold FJ, Wagner ND. Woodstoich III: Integrating tools of nutritional geometry and ecological stoichiometry to advance nutrient budgeting and the prediction of consumer‐driven nutrient recycling. OIKOS 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.03529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Erik Sperfeld
- Leibniz‐Inst. of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) Dept Experimental Limnology Alte Fischerhütte 2 OT Neuglobsow DE‐16775 Stechlin Germany
- School of Biological Sciences and Charles Perkins Centre The University of Sydney Sydney Australia
| | | | - Matthew Malishev
- Centre of Excellence for Biosecurity Risk Analysis (CEBRA), School of BioSciences Univ. of Melbourne Melbourne VIC Australia
| | - Fiona J. Clissold
- Clissold, School of Biological Sciences and The Charles Perkins Centre The Univ. of Sydney Sydney NSW Australia
| | - Nicole D. Wagner
- Environmental and Life Science Graduate Program Trent University, Peterborough ON Canada
- Environmental NMR Centre and Dept of Physical and Environmental Sciences Univ. of Toronto Scarborough ON Canada
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Leal MC, Ferrier-Pagès C. Molecular trophic markers in marine food webs and their potential use for coral ecology. Mar Genomics 2016; 29:1-7. [PMID: 26896098 DOI: 10.1016/j.margen.2016.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2015] [Revised: 02/01/2016] [Accepted: 02/05/2016] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Notable advances in ecological genomics have been driven by high-throughput sequencing technology and taxonomically broad sequence repositories that allow us to accurately assess species interactions with great taxonomic resolution. The use of DNA as a marker for ingested food is particularly relevant to address predator-prey interactions and disentangle complex marine food webs. DNA-based methods benefit from reductionist molecular approaches to address ecosystem scale processes, such as community structure and energy flow across trophic levels, among others. Here we review how molecular trophic markers have been used to better understand trophic interactions in the marine environment and their advantages and limitations. We focus on animal groups where research has been focused, such as marine mammals, seabirds, fishes, pelagic invertebrates and benthic invertebrates, and use case studies to illustrate how DNA-based methods unraveled food-web interactions. The potential of molecular trophic markers for disentangling the complex trophic ecology of corals is also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Costa Leal
- Dept. of Fish Ecology Evolution, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Center for Ecology, Evolution and Biogeochemistry; Seestrasse 79, 6047 Kastanienbaum, Switzerland.
| | - Christine Ferrier-Pagès
- Centre Scientifique du Monaco, Ecophysiology team, 8 Quai Antoine ler, MC-98000 Monaco, Monaco.
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41
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Fritschie KJ, Olden JD. Disentangling the influences of mean body size and size structure on ecosystem functioning: an example of nutrient recycling by a non-native crayfish. Ecol Evol 2015; 6:159-69. [PMID: 26811781 PMCID: PMC4716502 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2015] [Accepted: 10/19/2015] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Body size is a fundamental functional trait that can be used to forecast individuals' responses to environmental change and their contribution to ecosystem functioning. However, information on the mean and variation of size distributions often confound one another when relating body size to aggregate functioning. Given that size‐based metrics are used as indicators of ecosystem status, it is important to identify the specific aspects of size distributions that mediate ecosystem functioning. Our goal was to simultaneously account for the mean, variance, and shape of size distributions when relating body size to aggregate ecosystem functioning. We take advantage of habitat‐specific differences in size distributions to estimate nutrient recycling by a non‐native crayfish using mean‐field and variance‐incorporating approaches. Crayfishes often substantially influence ecosystem functioning through their omnivorous role in aquatic food webs. As predicted from Jensen's inequality, considering only the mean body size of crayfish overestimated aggregate effects on ecosystem functioning. This bias declined with mean body size such that mean‐field and variance‐incorporating estimates of ecosystem functioning were similar for samples at mean body sizes >7.5 g. At low mean body size, mean‐field bias in ecosystem functioning mismatch predictions from Jensen's inequality, likely because of the increasing skewness of the size distribution. Our findings support the prediction that variance around the mean can alter the relationship between body size and ecosystem functioning, especially at low mean body size. However, methods to account for mean‐field bias performed poorly in samples with highly skewed distributions, indicating that changes in the shape of the distribution, in addition to the variance, may confound mean‐based estimates of ecosystem functioning. Given that many biological functions scale allometrically, explicitly defining and experimentally or statistically isolating the effects of the mean, variance, and shape of size distributions is necessary to begin generalizing relationships between animal body size and ecosystem functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keith J Fritschie
- School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences University of Washington Seattle Washington 98105
| | - Julian D Olden
- School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences University of Washington Seattle Washington 98105
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Embracing general theory and taxon-level idiosyncrasies to explain nutrient recycling. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2015; 112:6248-9. [PMID: 25947152 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1506305112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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