1
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Prater C, Phan T, Elser JJ, Jeyasingh PD. Understanding stoichiometric constraints on growth using resource use efficiency imbalances. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2319022121. [PMID: 38683986 PMCID: PMC11087777 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2319022121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Growth is a function of the net accrual of resources by an organism. Energy and elemental contents of organisms are dynamically linked through their uptake and allocation to biomass production, yet we lack a full understanding of how these dynamics regulate growth rate. Here, we develop a multivariate imbalance framework, the growth efficiency hypothesis, linking organismal resource contents to growth and metabolic use efficiencies, and demonstrate its effectiveness in predicting consumer growth rates under elemental and food quantity limitation. The relative proportions of carbon (%C), nitrogen (%N), phosphorus (%P), and adenosine triphosphate (%ATP) in consumers differed markedly across resource limitation treatments. Differences in their resource composition were linked to systematic changes in stoichiometric use efficiencies, which served to maintain relatively consistent relationships between elemental and ATP content in consumer tissues and optimize biomass production. Overall, these adjustments were quantitatively linked to growth, enabling highly accurate predictions of consumer growth rates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clay Prater
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK74078
| | - Tin Phan
- T-6, Theoretical Biology and Biophysics, Los Alamos National Research Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM87545
| | - James J. Elser
- Flathead Lake Biological Station, University of Montana, Polson, MT59860
- Ecology and Evolution Program, Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT59812
| | - Punidan D. Jeyasingh
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK74078
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2
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Lemmen KD, Zhou L, Papakostas S, Declerck SAJ. An experimental test of the growth rate hypothesis as a predictive framework for microevolutionary adaptation. Ecology 2023; 104:e3853. [PMID: 36054549 PMCID: PMC10078216 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2022] [Revised: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
The growth rate hypothesis (GRH) posits that the relative body phosphorus content of an organism is positively related to somatic growth rate, as protein synthesis, which is necessary for growth, requires P-rich rRNA. This hypothesis has strong support at the interspecific level. Here, we explore the use of the GRH to predict microevolutionary responses in consumer body stoichiometry. For this, we subjected populations of the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus to selection for fast population growth rate (PGR) in P-rich (HPF) and P-poor (LPF) food environments. With common garden transplant experiments, we demonstrate that in HP populations evolution toward increased PGR was concomitant with an increase in relative phosphorus content. In contrast, LP populations evolved higher PGR without an increase in relative phosphorus content. We conclude that the GRH has the potential to predict microevolutionary change, but that its application is contingent on the environmental context. Our results highlight the potential of cryptic evolution in determining the performance response of populations to elemental limitation of their food resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberley D Lemmen
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Libin Zhou
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, Netherlands
| | | | - Steven A J Declerck
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, Netherlands.,Department of Biology, Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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3
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Nguyen ND, Matsuura T, Kato Y, Watanabe H. Caloric restriction upregulates the expression ofDNMT3.1, lacking the conserved catalytic domain, inDaphnia magna. Genesis 2020; 58:e23396. [DOI: 10.1002/dvg.23396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2020] [Revised: 08/24/2020] [Accepted: 08/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nhan Duc Nguyen
- Department of Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering Osaka University Osaka Japan
| | - Tomoaki Matsuura
- Department of Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering Osaka University Osaka Japan
| | - Yasuhiko Kato
- Department of Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering Osaka University Osaka Japan
- Frontier Research Base for Global Young Researchers, Graduate School of Engineering Osaka University Osaka Japan
| | - Hajime Watanabe
- Department of Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering Osaka University Osaka Japan
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4
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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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5
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Hartnett R. Variation in life-history traits among Daphnia and its relationship to species-level responses to phosphorus limitation. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2019; 6:191024. [PMID: 31598264 PMCID: PMC6731724 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.191024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2019] [Accepted: 07/17/2019] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Currently organisms are experiencing changes in their environment at an unprecedented rate. Therefore, the study of the contributions to and responses in traits linked to fitness is crucial, as they have direct consequences on a population's success in persisting under such a change. Daphnia is used as a model organism as the genus contains keystone primary consumers in aquatic food webs. A life-history table experiment (LHTE) using four species of Daphnia was conducted to compare variation in life-history traits among species across two different environmental conditions (high and low phosphorus availability). Results indicate that the food quality environment had the most impact on life-history traits, while genetic contributions to traits were higher at the species-level than clonal-level. Higher trait variation and species-level responses to P-limitation were more evident in reproductive traits, while growth traits were found to be less affected by food quality and had less variation. Exploring trait variation and potential plasticity in organisms is increasingly important to consider as a potential mechanism for population persistence given the fluctuations in environmental stressors we are currently experiencing.
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6
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Hartnett R. Variation in life-history traits among Daphnia and its relationship to species-level responses to phosphorus limitation. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2019. [PMID: 31598264 DOI: 10.5061/dryad.d4v7g74] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Currently organisms are experiencing changes in their environment at an unprecedented rate. Therefore, the study of the contributions to and responses in traits linked to fitness is crucial, as they have direct consequences on a population's success in persisting under such a change. Daphnia is used as a model organism as the genus contains keystone primary consumers in aquatic food webs. A life-history table experiment (LHTE) using four species of Daphnia was conducted to compare variation in life-history traits among species across two different environmental conditions (high and low phosphorus availability). Results indicate that the food quality environment had the most impact on life-history traits, while genetic contributions to traits were higher at the species-level than clonal-level. Higher trait variation and species-level responses to P-limitation were more evident in reproductive traits, while growth traits were found to be less affected by food quality and had less variation. Exploring trait variation and potential plasticity in organisms is increasingly important to consider as a potential mechanism for population persistence given the fluctuations in environmental stressors we are currently experiencing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Hartnett
- Department of Biology, Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Oklahoma, 730 Van Vleet Oval, Room 314, Norman, OK 73019, USA
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7
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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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8
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Yang T, Han G, Yang Q, Friman VP, Gu S, Wei Z, Kowalchuk GA, Xu Y, Shen Q, Jousset A. Resource stoichiometry shapes community invasion resistance via productivity-mediated species identity effects. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 285:20182035. [PMID: 30963908 PMCID: PMC6304049 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.2035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2018] [Accepted: 11/17/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Diversity-invasion resistance relationships are often variable and sensitive to environmental conditions such as resource availability. Resource stoichiometry, the relative concentration of different elements in the environment, has been shown to have strong effects on the physiology and interactions between different species. Yet, its role for diversity-invasion resistance relationships is still poorly understood. Here, we explored how the ratio of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus affects the productivity and invasion resistance of constructed microbial communities by a plant pathogenic bacterium, Ralstonia solanacearum. We found that resource stoichiometry and species identity effects affected the invasion resistance of communities. Both high N concentration and resident community diversity constrained invasions, and two resident species, in particular, had strong negative effects on the relative density of the invader and the resident community productivity. While resource stoichiometry did not affect the mean productivity of the resident community, it favoured the growth of two species that strongly constrained invasions turning the slope of productivity-invasion resistance relationship more negative. Together our findings suggest that alterations in resource stoichiometry can change the community resistance to invasions by having disproportionate effects on species growth, potentially explaining changes in microbial community composition under eutrophication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianjie Yang
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab of Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-Saving Fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
- Institute for Environmental Biology, Ecology and Biodiversity, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Gang Han
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab of Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-Saving Fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
| | - Qingjun Yang
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab of Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-Saving Fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
| | - Ville-Petri Friman
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab of Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-Saving Fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
- Department of Biology, University of York, Wentworth Way, YO10 5DD, York, UK
| | - Shaohua Gu
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab of Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-Saving Fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhong Wei
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab of Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-Saving Fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
| | - George A. Kowalchuk
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab of Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-Saving Fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
- Institute for Environmental Biology, Ecology and Biodiversity, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Yangchun Xu
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab of Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-Saving Fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
| | - Qirong Shen
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab of Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-Saving Fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
| | - Alexandre Jousset
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab of Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-Saving Fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
- Institute for Environmental Biology, Ecology and Biodiversity, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands
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9
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Godwin CM, Whitaker EA, Cotner JB. Growth rate and resource imbalance interactively control biomass stoichiometry and elemental quotas of aquatic bacteria. Ecology 2018; 98:820-829. [PMID: 27995610 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2016] [Revised: 10/01/2016] [Accepted: 11/29/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The effects of resource stoichiometry and growth rate on the elemental composition of biomass have been examined in a wide variety of organisms, but the interaction among these effects is often overlooked. To determine how growth rate and resource imbalance affect bacterial carbon (C): nitrogen (N): phosphorus (P) stoichiometry and elemental content, we cultured two strains of aquatic heterotrophic bacteria in chemostats at a range of dilution rates and P supply levels (C:P of 100:1 to 10,000:1). When growing below 50% of their maximum growth rate, P availability and dilution rate had strong interactive effects on biomass C:N:P, elemental quotas, cell size, respiration rate, and growth efficiency. In contrast, at faster growth rates, biomass stoichiometry was strongly homeostatic in both strains (C:N:P of 70:13:1 and 73:14:1) and elemental quotas of C, N, and P were tightly coupled (but not constant). Respiration and cell size increased with both growth rate and P limitation, and P limitation induced C accumulation and excess respiration. These results show that bacterial biomass stoichiometry is relatively constrained when all resources are abundant and growth rates are high, but at low growth rates resource imbalance is relatively more important than growth rate in controlling bacterial biomass composition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Casey M Godwin
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 1987 Upper Buford Circle, Saint Paul, Minnesota, 55108, USA
| | - Emily A Whitaker
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 1987 Upper Buford Circle, Saint Paul, Minnesota, 55108, USA
| | - James B Cotner
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 1987 Upper Buford Circle, Saint Paul, Minnesota, 55108, USA
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10
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Ruiz T, Bec A, Danger M, Koussoroplis AM, Aguer JP, Morel JP, Morel-Desrosiers N. A microcalorimetric approach for investigating stoichiometric constraints on the standard metabolic rate of a small invertebrate. Ecol Lett 2018; 21:1714-1722. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.13137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2018] [Revised: 05/07/2018] [Accepted: 07/20/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Ruiz
- Université Clermont Auvergne; CNRS; LMGE; Clermont-Ferrand F-63000 France
| | - Alexandre Bec
- Université Clermont Auvergne; CNRS; LMGE; Clermont-Ferrand F-63000 France
| | | | | | - Jean-Pierre Aguer
- Université Clermont Auvergne; CNRS; LMGE; Clermont-Ferrand F-63000 France
| | - Jean-Pierre Morel
- Université Clermont Auvergne; CNRS; LMGE; Clermont-Ferrand F-63000 France
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11
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Richard R, de Roos AM, Davidowitz G. The impact of development on patterns of nutrient limitation. Funct Ecol 2018; 32:1507-1519. [PMID: 30034075 PMCID: PMC6049933 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [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: 11/08/2017] [Accepted: 03/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Development is often accompanied by major changes in an organism's functioning and in the way it interacts with its environment. We consider how developmental events such as allocation changes at maturity, ontogenetic diet shift or metamorphosis may affect the likelihood and nature of nutrient limitation and explore the consequences of these changes in nutrient limitation for individual life history and patterns of biomass production.To this purpose, we develop a general model for individual growth and reproduction that is based on the assumption that biomass production and metabolism require several nutrients and that individuals may require them in different proportion at different stages of their lives.We parameterize this model for Daphnia based on its physiological requirements for carbon (C) and phosphorus (P). Growth and reproduction have different nutrient requirements, and this affects the likelihood of C vs. P limitation of differently sized individuals. This translates into a size-dependent threshold elemental ratio (TER), with a difference of up to twofold between juveniles and adults, a difference comparable to measured interspecific differences.The main implications of these findings are that, at the population level, co-limitation of biomass production by several nutrients is likely to occur under a wide range of food qualities. In addition, different regimes of nutrient limitation strongly influence the relative difference in biomass production of differently sized individuals, which has been shown to be a major driver of population and community dynamics. Our results point to development as a key determinant of a population's response to food quality. A http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2435.13101/suppinfo is available for this article.
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Affiliation(s)
- Romain Richard
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem DynamicsUniversity of AmsterdamAmsterdamThe Netherlands
| | - André M. de Roos
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem DynamicsUniversity of AmsterdamAmsterdamThe Netherlands
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12
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Sherman RE, Chowdhury PR, Baker KD, Weider LJ, Jeyasingh PD. Genotype-specific relationships among phosphorus use, growth and abundance in Daphnia pulicaria. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2017; 4:170770. [PMID: 29308224 PMCID: PMC5749992 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.170770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2017] [Accepted: 11/06/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
The framework ecological stoichiometry uses elemental composition of species to make predictions about growth and competitive ability in defined elemental supply conditions. Although intraspecific differences in stoichiometry have been observed, we have yet to understand the mechanisms generating and maintaining such variation. We used variation in phosphorus (P) content within a Daphnia species to test the extent to which %P can explain variation in growth and competition. Further, we measured 33P kinetics (acquisition, assimilation, incorporation and retention) to understand the extent to which such variables improved predictions. Genotypes showed significant variation in P content, 33P kinetics and growth rate. P content alone was a poor predictor of growth rate and competitive ability. While most genotypes exhibited the typical growth penalty under P limitation, a few varied little in growth between P diets. These observations indicate that some genotypes can maintain growth under P-limited conditions by altering P use, suggesting that decomposing P content of an individual into physiological components of P kinetics will improve stoichiometric models. More generally, attention to the interplay between nutrient content and nutrient-use is required to make inferences regarding the success of genotypes in defined conditions of nutrient supply.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan E. Sherman
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA
| | | | - Kristina D. Baker
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA
| | - Lawrence J. Weider
- Department of Biology, Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Punidan D. Jeyasingh
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA
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13
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Evans-White MA, Halvorson HM. Comparing the Ecological Stoichiometry in Green and Brown Food Webs - A Review and Meta-analysis of Freshwater Food Webs. Front Microbiol 2017; 8:1184. [PMID: 28706509 PMCID: PMC5489555 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.01184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2017] [Accepted: 06/12/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The framework of ecological stoichiometry was developed primarily within the context of "green" autotroph-based food webs. While stoichiometric principles also apply in "brown" detritus-based systems, these systems have been historically understudied and differ from green ones in several important aspects including carbon (C) quality and the nutrient [nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P)] contents of food resources for consumers. In this paper, we review work over the last decade that has advanced the application of ecological stoichiometry from green to brown food webs, focusing on freshwater ecosystems. We first review three focal areas where green and brown food webs differ: (1) bottom-up controls by light and nutrient availability, (2) stoichiometric constraints on consumer growth and nutritional regulation, and (3) patterns in consumer-driven nutrient dynamics. Our review highlights the need for further study of how light and nutrient availability affect autotroph-heterotroph interactions on detritus and the subsequent effects on consumer feeding and growth. To complement this conceptual review, we formally quantified differences in stoichiometric principles between green and brown food webs using a meta-analysis across feeding studies of freshwater benthic invertebrates. From 257 datasets collated across 46 publications and several unpublished studies, we compared effect sizes (Pearson's r) of resource N:C and P:C on growth, consumption, excretion, and egestion between herbivorous and detritivorous consumers. The meta-analysis revealed that both herbivore and detritivore growth are limited by resource N:C and P:C contents, but effect sizes only among detritivores were significantly above zero. Consumption effect sizes were negative among herbivores but positive for detritivores in the case of both N:C and P:C, indicating distinct compensatory feeding responses across resource stoichiometry gradients. Herbivore P excretion rates responded significantly positively to resource P:C, whereas detritivore N and P excretion did not respond; detritivore N and P egestion responded positively to resource N:C and P:C, respectively. Our meta-analysis highlights resource N and P contents as broadly limiting in brown and green benthic food webs, but indicates contrasting mechanisms of limitation owing to differing consumer regulation. We suggest that green and brown food webs share fundamental stoichiometric principles, while identifying specific differences toward applying ecological stoichiometry across ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Halvor M. Halvorson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern Mississippi, HattiesburgMS, United States
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14
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Prater C, Wagner ND, Frost PC. Interactive effects of genotype and food quality on consumer growth rate and elemental content. Ecology 2017; 98:1399-1408. [DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2016] [Revised: 02/07/2017] [Accepted: 02/21/2017] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Clay Prater
- Environmental and Life Science Graduate Program; Trent University; Peterborough Ontario K9J 7B8 Canada
| | - Nicole D. Wagner
- Environmental and Life Science Graduate Program; Trent University; Peterborough Ontario K9J 7B8 Canada
| | - Paul C. Frost
- Department of Biology; Trent University; Peterborough Ontario K9L 1Z8 Canada
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15
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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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Halvorson HM, White G, Scott JT, Evans-White MA. Dietary and taxonomic controls on incorporation of microbial carbon and phosphorus by detritivorous caddisflies. Oecologia 2015; 180:567-79. [DOI: 10.1007/s00442-015-3464-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2015] [Accepted: 09/20/2015] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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Cross WF, Hood JM, Benstead JP, Huryn AD, Nelson D. Interactions between temperature and nutrients across levels of ecological organization. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2015; 21:1025-40. [PMID: 25400273 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.12809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 132] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2014] [Accepted: 10/06/2014] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Temperature and nutrient availability play key roles in controlling the pathways and rates at which energy and materials move through ecosystems. These factors have also changed dramatically on Earth over the past century as human activities have intensified. Although significant effort has been devoted to understanding the role of temperature and nutrients in isolation, less is known about how these two factors interact to influence ecological processes. Recent advances in ecological stoichiometry and metabolic ecology provide a useful framework for making progress in this area, but conceptual synthesis and review are needed to help catalyze additional research. Here, we examine known and potential interactions between temperature and nutrients from a variety of physiological, community, and ecosystem perspectives. We first review patterns at the level of the individual, focusing on four traits--growth, respiration, body size, and elemental content--that should theoretically govern how temperature and nutrients interact to influence higher levels of biological organization. We next explore the interactive effects of temperature and nutrients on populations, communities, and food webs by synthesizing information related to community size spectra, biomass distributions, and elemental composition. We use metabolic theory to make predictions about how population-level secondary production should respond to interactions between temperature and resource supply, setting up qualitative predictions about the flows of energy and materials through metazoan food webs. Last, we examine how temperature-nutrient interactions influence processes at the whole-ecosystem level, focusing on apparent vs. intrinsic activation energies of ecosystem processes, how to represent temperature-nutrient interactions in ecosystem models, and patterns with respect to nutrient uptake and organic matter decomposition. We conclude that a better understanding of interactions between temperature and nutrients will be critical for developing realistic predictions about ecological responses to multiple, simultaneous drivers of global change, including climate warming and elevated nutrient supply.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wyatt F Cross
- Department of Ecology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59717, USA
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Benstead JP, Hood JM, Whelan NV, Kendrick MR, Nelson D, Hanninen AF, Demi LM. Coupling of dietary phosphorus and growth across diverse fish taxa: a meta-analysis of experimental aquaculture studies. Ecology 2014. [DOI: 10.1890/13-1859.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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