1
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Arancibia PA. The topology of spatial networks affects stability in experimental metacommunities. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20240567. [PMID: 38864323 PMCID: PMC11338566 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2023] [Revised: 04/09/2024] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Understanding the drivers of community stability has been a central goal in ecology. Traditionally, emphasis has been placed on studying the effects of biotic interactions on community variability, and less is understood about how the spatial configuration of habitats promotes or hinders metacommunity stability. To test the effects of contrasting spatial configurations on metacommunity stability, I designed metacommunities with patches connected as random or scale-free networks. In these microcosms, two prey and one protist predator dispersed, and I evaluated community persistence, tracked biomass variations, and measured synchrony between local communities and the whole metacommunity. After 30 generations, scale-free metacommunities had lower global biomass variability and higher persistence, suggesting higher stability. Synchrony between patches was lower in scale-free metacommunities. Patches in scale-free metacommunities showed a positive relationship between variability and patch connectivity, indicating higher stability in isolated communities. No clear relationship between variability and patch connectivity was observed in random networks. These results suggest the increased heterogeneity in connectivity of scale-free networks favours the prevalence of isolated patches of the metacommunity, which likely act as refugia against competition-the dominant interaction in this system-resulting in higher global stability. These results highlight the importance of accounting for network topology in the study of spatial dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paulina A. Arancibia
- Graduate Program in Ecology and Evolution, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
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2
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Di Pane J, Bourdaud P, Horn S, Moreno HD, Meunier CL. Global change alters coastal plankton food webs by promoting the microbial loop: An inverse modelling and network analysis approach on a mesocosm experiment. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 921:171272. [PMID: 38408676 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171272] [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: 11/22/2023] [Revised: 02/09/2024] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/28/2024]
Abstract
Marine organisms are currently, and will continue to be, exposed to the simultaneous effects of multiple environmental changes. Plankton organisms form the base of pelagic marine food webs and are particularly sensitive to ecosystem changes. Thus, warming, acidification, and changes in dissolved nutrient concentrations have the potential to alter these assemblages, with consequences for the entire ecosystem. Despite the growing number of studies addressing the potential influence of multiple drivers on plankton, global change may also cause less obvious alterations to the networks of interactions among species. Using inverse analyses applied to data collected during a mesocosm experiment, we aimed to compare the ecological functioning of coastal plankton assemblages and the interactions within their food web under different global change scenarios. The experimental treatments were based on the RCP 6.0 and 8.5 scenarios developed by the IPCC, which were extended (ERCP) to integrate the future predicted changes in coastal water nutrient concentrations. Overall, we identified that the functioning of the plankton food web was rather similar in the Ambient and ERCP 6.0 scenarios, but substantially altered in the ERCP 8.5 scenario. Using food web modelling and ecological network analysis, we identified that global change strengthens the microbial loop, with a decrease of energy transfer efficiency to higher trophic levels. Microzooplankton responded as well by an increased degree of herbivory in their diet and represented, compared to mesozooplankton, by far the main top-down pressure on primary producers. We also observed that the organisation of the food web and its capacity to recycle carbon was higher under the ERCP 8.5 scenario, but flow diversity and carbon path length were significantly reduced, illustrating an increased food web stability at the expense of diversity. Here, we provide evidence that if global change goes beyond the ERCP 6.0 scenario, coastal ecosystem functioning will be subjected to dramatic changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julien Di Pane
- Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Biologische Anstalt Helgoland, Helgoland, Germany; EDF R&D, LNHE - Laboratoire National d'Hydraulique et Environnement, Chatou 78400, France.
| | - Pierre Bourdaud
- DECOD (Ecosystem Dynamics and Sustainability), IFREMER, Institut Agro, INRAE, F-44311 Nantes, France
| | - Sabine Horn
- Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Wadden Sea Station, Sylt, Germany
| | - Hugo Duarte Moreno
- Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Biologische Anstalt Helgoland, Helgoland, Germany
| | - Cédric Léo Meunier
- Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Biologische Anstalt Helgoland, Helgoland, Germany
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3
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Zhao Y, Liu X, Wang J, Nie Y, Huang M, Zhang L, Xiao Y, Zhang Z, Zhou S. Fungal pathogens increase community temporal stability through species asynchrony regardless of nutrient fertilization. Ecology 2023; 104:e4166. [PMID: 37671835 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Revised: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023]
Abstract
Natural enemies and their interaction with host nutrient availability influence plant population dynamics, community structure, and ecosystem functions. However, the way in which these factors influence patterns of community stability, as well as the direct and indirect processes underlying that stability, remains unclear. Here, we investigated the separate and interactive roles of fungal/oomycete pathogens and nutrient fertilization on the temporal stability of community biomass and the potential mechanisms using a factorial experiment in an alpine meadow. We found that fungal pathogen exclusion reduced community temporal stability mainly through decreasing species asynchrony, while fertilization tended to reduce community temporal stability by decreasing species stability. However, there was no interaction between pathogen exclusion and nutrient fertilization. These effects were largely due to the direct effects of the treatments on plant biomass and not due to indirect effects mediated through plant diversity. Our findings highlight the need for a multitrophic perspective in field studies examining ecosystem stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yimin Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Agro-Forestry Environmental Processes and Ecological Regulation of Hainan Province, School of Ecology and Environment, Hainan University, Haikou, China
- Key Laboratory of Genetics and Germplasm Innovation of Tropical Special Forest Trees and Ornamental Plants, Ministry of Education, College of Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Xiang Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Jianbin Wang
- Key Laboratory of Genetics and Germplasm Innovation of Tropical Special Forest Trees and Ornamental Plants, Ministry of Education, College of Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Yu Nie
- Key Laboratory of Agro-Forestry Environmental Processes and Ecological Regulation of Hainan Province, School of Ecology and Environment, Hainan University, Haikou, China
- Key Laboratory of Genetics and Germplasm Innovation of Tropical Special Forest Trees and Ornamental Plants, Ministry of Education, College of Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Mengjiao Huang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Coastal Ecosystems Research Station of the Yangtze River Estuary, Institute of Biodiversity Science, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Li Zhang
- Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Bamboo Research Institute, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yao Xiao
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Zhenhua Zhang
- Qinghai Haibei National Field Research Station of Alpine Grassland Ecosystem, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, China
| | - Shurong Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Genetics and Germplasm Innovation of Tropical Special Forest Trees and Ornamental Plants, Ministry of Education, College of Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou, China
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4
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Meng Y, Li SP, Wang S, Meiners SJ, Jiang L. Scale-dependent changes in ecosystem temporal stability over six decades of succession. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadi1279. [PMID: 37801504 PMCID: PMC10558118 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adi1279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2023] [Accepted: 09/06/2023] [Indexed: 10/08/2023]
Abstract
A widely assumed, but largely untested, tenet in ecology is that ecosystem stability tends to increase over succession. We rigorously test this idea using 60-year continuous data of old field succession across 480 plots nested within 10 fields. We found that ecosystem temporal stability increased over succession at the larger field scale (γ stability) but not at the local plot scale (α stability). Increased spatial asynchrony among plots within fields increased γ stability, while temporal increases in species stability and decreases in species asynchrony offset each other, resulting in no increase in α stability at the local scale. Furthermore, we found a notable positive diversity-stability relationship at the larger but not local scale, with the increased γ stability at the larger scale associated with increasing functional diversity later in succession. Our results emphasize the importance of spatial scale in assessing ecosystem stability over time and how it relates to biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yani Meng
- Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Institute of Eco-Chongming, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
| | - Shao-peng Li
- Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Institute of Eco-Chongming, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
| | - Shaopeng Wang
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Science and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Scott J. Meiners
- Department of Biological Sciences, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL, 61920, USA
| | - Lin Jiang
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
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5
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Rezende F, Antiqueira PAP, Petchey OL, Velho LFM, Rodrigues LC, Romero GQ. Trophic downgrading decreases species asynchrony and community stability regardless of climate warming. Ecol Lett 2021; 24:2660-2673. [PMID: 34537987 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2021] [Revised: 08/26/2021] [Accepted: 08/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Theory and some evidence suggest that biodiversity promotes stability. However, evidence of how trophic interactions and environmental changes modulate this relationship in multitrophic communities is lacking. Given the current scenario of biodiversity loss and climate changes, where top predators are disproportionately more affected, filling these knowledge gaps is crucial. We simulated climate warming and top predator loss in natural microcosms to investigate their direct and indirect effects on temporal stability of microbial communities and the role of underlying stabilising mechanisms. Community stability was insensitive to warming, but indirectly decreased due to top predator loss via increased mesopredator abundance and consequent reduction of species asynchrony and species stability. The magnitude of destabilising effects differed among trophic levels, being disproportionally higher at lower trophic levels (e.g. producers). Our study unravels major patterns and causal mechanisms by which trophic downgrading destabilises large food webs, regardless of climate warming scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felipe Rezende
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas-SP, Brazil.,Laboratório de Interações Multitróficas e Biodiversidade, Departamento de Biologia Animal, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas-SP, Brazil
| | - Pablo A P Antiqueira
- Laboratório de Interações Multitróficas e Biodiversidade, Departamento de Biologia Animal, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas-SP, Brazil
| | - Owen L Petchey
- Institute for Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Luiz Felipe M Velho
- Universidade Estadual de Maringá (UEM), DBI/PEA/NUPÉLIA, Av. Colombo, Maringá-PR, Brazil
| | - Luzia C Rodrigues
- Universidade Estadual de Maringá (UEM), DBI/PEA/NUPÉLIA, Av. Colombo, Maringá-PR, Brazil
| | - Gustavo Q Romero
- Laboratório de Interações Multitróficas e Biodiversidade, Departamento de Biologia Animal, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas-SP, Brazil
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6
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Xu Q, Yang X, Yan Y, Wang S, Loreau M, Jiang L. Consistently positive effect of species diversity on ecosystem, but not population, temporal stability. Ecol Lett 2021; 24:2256-2266. [PMID: 34002439 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2020] [Revised: 03/31/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Despite much recent progress, our understanding of diversity-stability relationships across different study systems remains incomplete. In particular, recent theory clarified that within-species population stability and among-species asynchronous population dynamics combine to determine ecosystem temporal stability, but their relative importance in modulating diversity-ecosystem temporal stability relationships in different ecosystems remains unclear. We addressed this issue with a meta-analysis of empirical studies of ecosystem and population temporal stability in relation to species diversity across a range of taxa and ecosystems. We show that ecosystem temporal stability tended to increase with species diversity, regardless of study systems. Increasing diversity promoted asynchrony, which, in turn, contributed to increased ecosystem stability. The positive diversity-ecosystem stability relationship persisted even after accounting for the influences of environmental covariates (e.g., precipitation and nutrient input). By contrast, species diversity tended to reduce population temporal stability in terrestrial systems but increase population temporal stability in aquatic systems, suggesting that asynchronous dynamics among species are essential for stabilizing diverse terrestrial ecosystems. We conclude that there is compelling empirical evidence for a general positive relationship between species diversity and ecosystem-level temporal stability, but the contrasting diversity-population temporal stability relationships between terrestrial and aquatic systems call for more investigations into their underlying mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qianna Xu
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Xian Yang
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.,State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Ecology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ying Yan
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Science, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Shaopeng Wang
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Science, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Michel Loreau
- Centre for Biodiversity Theory and Modelling, Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station, CNRS, Moulis, France
| | - Lin Jiang
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
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7
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Kohli M, Borer ET, Kinkel L, Seabloom EW. Stability of grassland production is robust to changes in the consumer food web. Ecol Lett 2019; 22:707-716. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.13232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2018] [Revised: 11/20/2018] [Accepted: 01/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mayank Kohli
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior University of Minnesota Twin Cities Minnesota USA
| | - Elizabeth T. Borer
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior University of Minnesota Twin Cities Minnesota USA
| | - Linda Kinkel
- Department of Plant Pathology University of Minnesota Twin Cities Minnesota USA
| | - Eric W. Seabloom
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior University of Minnesota Twin Cities Minnesota USA
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8
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Dyer LA. Multidimensional diversity associated with plants: a view from a plant-insect interaction ecologist. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2018; 105:1439-1442. [PMID: 30151878 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.1147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2018] [Accepted: 06/07/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Lee A Dyer
- University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV, USA
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9
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Crotty SM, Sharp SJ, Bersoza AC, Prince KD, Cronk K, Johnson EE, Angelini C. Foundation species patch configuration mediates salt marsh biodiversity, stability and multifunctionality. Ecol Lett 2018; 21:1681-1692. [PMID: 30141246 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2018] [Revised: 07/19/2018] [Accepted: 08/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Foundation species enhance biodiversity and multifunctionality across many systems; however, whether foundation species patch configuration mediates their ecological effects is unknown. In a 6-month field experiment, we test which attributes of foundation species patch configuration - i.e. patch size, total patch area, perimeter, area-perimeter ratio, or connectivity - control biodiversity, stability and multifunctionality by adding a standardised density of mussel foundation species in patches of 1, 5, 10, 30, 60, 90 or 180 individuals to a southeastern US salt marsh. Over 67% of response variables increased with clustering of mussels, responses that were driven by increases in area-perimeter ratio (33%), decreases in perimeter (29%), or increases in patch size (5%), suggesting sensitivity to external stressors and/or dependence on foundation species-derived niche availability and segregation. Thus, mussel configuration - by controlling the relative distribution of multidimensional patch interior and edge niche space - critically modulates this foundation species' effects on ecosystem structure, stability and function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sinéad M Crotty
- Environmental Engineering Sciences, Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Sean J Sharp
- Environmental Engineering Sciences, Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Ada C Bersoza
- Environmental Engineering Sciences, Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Kimberly D Prince
- Environmental Engineering Sciences, Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Katheryne Cronk
- Environmental Engineering Sciences, Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Emma E Johnson
- Environmental Engineering Sciences, Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Christine Angelini
- Environmental Engineering Sciences, Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
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10
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Simulated tri-trophic networks reveal complex relationships between species diversity and interaction diversity. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0193822. [PMID: 29579077 PMCID: PMC5868776 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0193822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2017] [Accepted: 02/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Most of earth’s biodiversity is comprised of interactions among species, yet it is unclear what causes variation in interaction diversity across space and time. We define interaction diversity as the richness and relative abundance of interactions linking species together at scales from localized, measurable webs to entire ecosystems. Large-scale patterns suggest that two basic components of interaction diversity differ substantially and predictably between different ecosystems: overall taxonomic diversity and host specificity of consumers. Understanding how these factors influence interaction diversity, and quantifying the causes and effects of variation in interaction diversity are important goals for community ecology. While previous studies have examined the effects of sampling bias and consumer specialization on determining patterns of ecological networks, these studies were restricted to two trophic levels and did not incorporate realistic variation in species diversity and consumer diet breadth. Here, we developed a food web model to generate tri-trophic ecological networks, and evaluated specific hypotheses about how the diversity of trophic interactions and species diversity are related under different scenarios of species richness, taxonomic abundance, and consumer diet breadth. We investigated the accumulation of species and interactions and found that interactions accumulate more quickly; thus, the accumulation of novel interactions may require less sampling effort than sampling species in order to get reliable estimates of either type of diversity. Mean consumer diet breadth influenced the correlation between species and interaction diversity significantly more than variation in both species richness and taxonomic abundance. However, this effect of diet breadth on interaction diversity is conditional on the number of observed interactions included in the models. The results presented here will help develop realistic predictions of the relationships between consumer diet breadth, interaction diversity, and species diversity within multi-trophic communities, which is critical for the conservation of biodiversity in this period of accelerated global change.
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11
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Johnke J, Baron M, de Leeuw M, Kushmaro A, Jurkevitch E, Harms H, Chatzinotas A. A Generalist Protist Predator Enables Coexistence in Multitrophic Predator-Prey Systems Containing a Phage and the Bacterial Predator Bdellovibrio. Front Ecol Evol 2017. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2017.00124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
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12
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Li W, Stevens MHH. Community temporal variability increases with fluctuating resource availability. Sci Rep 2017; 7:45280. [PMID: 28345592 PMCID: PMC5366892 DOI: 10.1038/srep45280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2016] [Accepted: 02/23/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
An increase in the quantity of available resources is known to affect temporal variability of aggregate community properties. However, it is unclear how might fluctuations in resource availability alter community-level temporal variability. Here we conduct a microcosm experiment with laboratory protist community subjected to manipulated resource pulses that vary in intensity, duration and time of supply, and examine the impact of fluctuating resource availability on temporal variability of the recipient community. The results showed that the temporal variation of total protist abundance increased with the magnitude of resource pulses, as protist community receiving infrequent resource pulses (i.e., high-magnitude nutrients per pulse) was relatively more unstable than community receiving multiple resource pulses (i.e., low-magnitude nutrients per pulse), although the same total amounts of nutrients were added to each community. Meanwhile, the timing effect of fluctuating resources did not significantly alter community temporal variability. Further analysis showed that fluctuating resource availability increased community temporal variability by increasing the degree of community-wide species synchrony and decreasing the stabilizing effects of dominant species. Hence, the importance of fluctuating resource availability in influencing community stability and the regulatory mechanisms merit more attention, especially when global ecosystems are experiencing high rates of anthropogenic nutrient inputs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Li
- Yunnan Academy of Biodiversity, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, Yunnan 650224, China
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13
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Baert JM, De Laender F, Sabbe K, Janssen CR. Biodiversity increases functional and compositional resistance, but decreases resilience in phytoplankton communities. Ecology 2016; 97:3433-3440. [DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2016] [Revised: 08/18/2016] [Accepted: 09/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jan M. Baert
- Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Applied Ecology; Ghent University; Coupure Links 653 Ghent 9000 Belgium
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology; University of Namur; Rue de Bruxelles 61 Namur 5000 Belgium
| | - Koen Sabbe
- Laboratory of Protistology & Aquatic Ecology; Ghent University; Krijgslaan 281-S8 Ghent 9000 Belgium
| | - Colin R. Janssen
- Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Applied Ecology; Ghent University; Coupure Links 653 Ghent 9000 Belgium
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14
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Nilsson KA, McCann KS. Interaction strength revisited—clarifying the role of energy flux for food web stability. THEOR ECOL-NETH 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s12080-015-0282-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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15
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Pu Z, Jiang L. Dispersal among local communities does not reduce historical contingencies during metacommunity assembly. OIKOS 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.02079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Zhichao Pu
- School of Biology, Georgia Inst. of Technology; 310 Ferst Drive Atlanta GA 30332 USA
| | - Lin Jiang
- School of Biology, Georgia Inst. of Technology; 310 Ferst Drive Atlanta GA 30332 USA
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16
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Dyer LA, Parchman TL, Jeffrey CS, Richards LA. New dimensions of tropical diversity: an inordinate fondness for insect molecules, taxa, and trophic interactions. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2014; 2:14-19. [PMID: 32846719 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2014.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2014] [Revised: 05/29/2014] [Accepted: 06/09/2014] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Most known insect species are involved in chemically mediated plant-insect multi-trophic interactions, and recent syntheses point to a substantial gap in our understanding of trophic interaction diversity, especially in the tropics. One approach to filling this gap is to examine relationships between genomic, metabolomic, taxonomic, and trophic interaction diversity via quantifying and comparing these dimensions of biodiversity at multiple scales. Innovative approaches to research on the origins and maintenance of tropical insect diversity should merge traditional approaches to natural history and taxonomy with modern measures of interaction diversity, genetic variation, and phytochemical diversity. These approaches will elucidate relationships between plant chemistry, specialization, climate, and different dimensions of biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lee A Dyer
- Ecology Evolution and Conservation Biology, University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV 89557, United States.
| | - Thomas L Parchman
- Ecology Evolution and Conservation Biology, University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV 89557, United States
| | - Christopher S Jeffrey
- Ecology Evolution and Conservation Biology, University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV 89557, United States
| | - Lora A Richards
- Ecology Evolution and Conservation Biology, University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV 89557, United States
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17
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Downing AL, Brown BL, Leibold MA. Multiple diversity–stability mechanisms enhance population and community stability in aquatic food webs. Ecology 2014; 95:173-84. [DOI: 10.1890/12-1406.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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18
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Venail PA, Alexandrou MA, Oakley TH, Cardinale BJ. Shared ancestry influences community stability by altering competitive interactions: evidence from a laboratory microcosm experiment using freshwater green algae. Proc Biol Sci 2013; 280:20131548. [PMID: 23945692 PMCID: PMC3757983 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2013.1548] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2013] [Accepted: 07/17/2013] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The impact of biodiversity on the stability of ecological communities has been debated among biologists for more than a century. Recently summarized empirical evidence suggests that biodiversity tends to enhance the temporal stability of community-level properties such as biomass; however, the underlying mechanisms driving this relationship remain poorly understood. Here, we report the results of a microcosm study in which we used simplified systems of freshwater microalgae to explore how the phylogenetic relatedness of species influences the temporal stability of community biomass by altering the nature of their competitive interactions. We show that combinations of two species that are more evolutionarily divergent tend to have lower temporal stability of biomass. In part, this is due to negative 'selection effects' in which bicultures composed of distantly related species are more likely to contain strong competitors that achieve low biomass. In addition, bicultures of distantly related species had on average weaker competitive interactions, which reduced compensatory dynamics and decreased the stability of community biomass. Our results demonstrate that evolutionary history plays a key role in controlling the mechanisms, which give rise to diversity-stability relationships. As such, patterns of shared ancestry may help us predict the ecosystem-level consequences of biodiversity loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick A Venail
- School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1041, USA.
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19
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Abstract
Heterogeneity among prey in their susceptibility to predation is a potentially important stabilizer of predator-prey interactions, reducing the magnitude of population oscillations and enhancing total prey population abundance. When microevolutionary responses of prey populations occur at time scales comparable to population dynamics, adaptive responses in prey defense can, in theory, stabilize predator-prey dynamics and reduce top-down effects on prey abundance. While experiments have tested these predictions, less explored are the consequences of the evolution of prey phenotypes that can persist in both vulnerable and invulnerable classes. We tested this experimentally using a laboratory aquatic system composed of the rotifer
Brachionus calyciflorus as a predator and the prey
Synura petersenii, a colony-forming alga that exhibits genetic variation in its propensity to form colonies and colony size (larger colonies are a defense against predators). Prey populations of either low initial genetic diversity and low adaptive capacity or high initial genetic diversity and high adaptive capacity were crossed with predator presence and absence. Dynamics measured over the last 127 days of the 167-day experiment revealed no effects of initial prey genetic diversity on the average abundance or temporal variability of predator populations. However, genetic diversity and predator presence/absence interactively affected prey population abundance and stability; diversity of prey had no effects in the absence of predators but stabilized dynamics and increased total prey abundance in the presence of predators. The size structure of the genetically diverse prey populations diverged from single strain populations in the presence of predators, showing increases in colony size and in the relative abundance of cells found in colonies. Our work sheds light on the adaptive value of colony formation and supports the general view that genetic diversity and intraspecific trait variation of prey can play a vital role in the short-term dynamics and stability of planktonic predator-prey systems.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jordan Masse
- Department of Biological Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, 48202, USA
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Yang H, Jiang L, Li L, Li A, Wu M, Wan S. Diversity-dependent stability under mowing and nutrient addition: evidence from a 7-year grassland experiment. Ecol Lett 2012; 15:619-26. [PMID: 22487498 DOI: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2012.01778.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Anthropogenic perturbations may affect biodiversity and ecological stability as well as their relationships. However, diversity-stability patterns and associated mechanisms under human disturbances have rarely been explored. We conducted a 7-year field experiment examining the effects of mowing and nutrient addition on the diversity and temporal stability of herbaceous plant communities in a temperate steppe in northern China. Mowing increased population and community stability, whereas nutrient addition had the opposite effects. Stability exhibited positive relationships with species richness at population, functional group and community levels. Treatments did not alter these positive diversity-stability relationships, which were associated with the stabilising effect of species richness on component populations, species asynchrony and portfolio effects. Despite the difficulty of pinpointing causal mechanisms of diversity-stability patterns observed in nature, our results suggest that diversity may still be a useful predictor of the stability of ecosystems confronted with anthropogenic disturbances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haijun Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiangshan, Beijing, China
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21
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Steiner CF, Klausmeier CA, Litchman E. Transient dynamics and the destabilizing effects of prey heterogeneity. Ecology 2012; 93:632-44. [DOI: 10.1890/10-2320.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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22
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Narwani A, Mazumder A. Bottom-up effects of species diversity on the functioning and stability of food webs. J Anim Ecol 2012; 81:701-13. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2656.2011.01949.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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23
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Rooney N, McCann KS. Integrating food web diversity, structure and stability. Trends Ecol Evol 2012; 27:40-6. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2011.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 281] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2011] [Revised: 08/31/2011] [Accepted: 09/01/2011] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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24
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Campbell V, Murphy G, Romanuk TN. Experimental design and the outcome and interpretation of diversity-stability relations. OIKOS 2010. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0706.2010.18768.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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25
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Fox JW. Partitioning the effects of species loss on community variability using multi-level selection theory. OIKOS 2010. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0706.2010.18501.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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26
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Abstract
Theory predicts that species extinction or invasion can affect the temporal dynamics of ecological communities by altering feedback patterns and by damping or amplifying environmental variation via changes in the network of species interactions, but because of the logistical challenges of investigating temporal dynamics, evidence from natural ecosystems is lacking. In a long-term experimental manipulation of a rocky intertidal community on Tatoosh Island, Washington, U.S.A., chronic removal of the dominant species Mytilus californianus altered the dynamics of the system, causing reductions in the temporal variability of three subdominant species but no consistent change in the spectral characteristics or the order of density dependence across experimental replicates. This pattern of results suggests that Mytilus californianus impacted the temporal dynamics by amplifying environmental stochasticity, rather than by changing feedback pathways as is emphasized in most theoretical predictions and laboratory studies. Hence, further investigation of the mechanisms and implications of transmission of environmental stochasticity in natural ecosystems is merited.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Timothy Wootton
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, The University of Chicago, 1101 East 57th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.
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27
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Rip JMK, McCann KS, Lynn DH, Fawcett S. An experimental test of a fundamental food web motif. Proc Biol Sci 2010; 277:1743-9. [PMID: 20129988 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2009.2191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Large-scale changes to the world's ecosystem are resulting in the deterioration of biostructure-the complex web of species interactions that make up ecological communities. A difficult, yet crucial task is to identify food web structures, or food web motifs, that are the building blocks of this baroque network of interactions. Once identified, these food web motifs can then be examined through experiments and theory to provide mechanistic explanations for how structure governs ecosystem stability. Here, we synthesize recent ecological research to show that generalist consumers coupling resources with different interaction strengths, is one such motif. This motif amazingly occurs across an enormous range of spatial scales, and so acts to distribute coupled weak and strong interactions throughout food webs. We then perform an experiment that illustrates the importance of this motif to ecological stability. We find that weak interactions coupled to strong interactions by generalist consumers dampen strong interaction strengths and increase community stability. This study takes a critical step by isolating a common food web motif and through clear, experimental manipulation, identifies the fundamental stabilizing consequences of this structure for ecological communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason M K Rip
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
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28
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Dyer LA, Walla TR, Greeney HF, Stireman III JO, Hazen RF. Diversity of Interactions: A Metric for Studies of Biodiversity. Biotropica 2010. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2009.00624.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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29
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Jiang L, Pu Z. Different effects of species diversity on temporal stability in single-trophic and multitrophic communities. Am Nat 2009; 174:651-9. [PMID: 19775227 DOI: 10.1086/605961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 124] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
The question of how species diversity affects ecological stability has long interested ecologists and yet remains largely unresolved. Historically, attempts to answer this question have been hampered by the presence of multiple potentially confounding stability concepts, confusion over responses at different levels of ecological organization, discrepancy between theoretical predictions, and, particularly, the paucity of empirical studies. Here we used meta-analyses to synthesize results of empirical studies published primarily in the past 2 decades on the relationship between species diversity and temporal stability. We show that the overall effect of increasing diversity was positive for community-level temporal stability but neutral for population-level temporal stability. There were, however, striking differences in the diversity-stability relationship between single- and multitrophic systems, with diversity stabilizing both population and community dynamics in multitrophic but not single-trophic communities. These patterns were broadly equivalent across experimental and observational studies as well as across terrestrial and aquatic studies. We discuss possible mechanisms for population stability to increase with diversity in multitrophic systems and for diversity to influence community-level stability in general. Overall, our results indicate that diversity can affect temporal stability, but the effects may critically depend on trophic complexity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Jiang
- School of Biology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA.
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