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Hardy A, Skrabal SA, Addison L, Emslie SD. Biomagnification of mercury in an estuarine food web. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2024; 205:116604. [PMID: 38936002 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116604] [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: 01/01/2024] [Revised: 06/12/2024] [Accepted: 06/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/29/2024]
Abstract
Methylmercury is a toxin of local, regional, and global concern, with estuarine habitats possessing ecological characteristics that support conversion of inorganic mercury into this methylated form. We monitored Hg concentrations in species within the food web of the lower Cape Fear River (CFR) estuary in 2018-2020. Samples were analyzed for Hg concentrations and nitrogen isotopes (a measure of trophic level), and we found a positive relationship within this food web each year (p < 0.0001), indicating biomagnification is occurring. The highest Hg concentrations were among the upper trophic level species (Royal Terns, 4.300 ppm). While the Hg concentrations we documented are below assumed thresholds for toxic effects, we found spikes in Hg concentrations after Hurricane Florence in 2018 and with other disturbances to the CFR that resuspended bottom sediments. Continued monitoring is needed to understand the cause of annual variations, health implications, and conservation needs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Hardy
- Department of Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina, Wilmington, NC 28403, USA.
| | - Stephen A Skrabal
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of North Carolina, Wilmington, NC 28403, USA
| | - Lindsay Addison
- Audubon North Carolina, 7741 Market St, Wilmington, NC 28411, USA
| | - Steven D Emslie
- Department of Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina, Wilmington, NC 28403, USA
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2
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Schnedler‐Meyer NA, Andersen TK. Dining in danger: Resolving adaptive fish behavior increases realism of modeled ecosystem dynamics. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e70020. [PMID: 39114166 PMCID: PMC11303985 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.70020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2024] [Revised: 06/27/2024] [Accepted: 07/02/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Animals occupying higher trophic levels can have disproportionately large influence on ecosystem structure and functioning, owning to intricate behavioral responses to their environment, but the effects of behavioral adaptations on aquatic ecosystem dynamics are underrepresented, especially in model studies. Here, we explore how adaptive behavior of fish can affect the dynamics of aquatics ecosystems. We frame fish behavior in the context of the central trade-off between feeding and predation, calculating the optimal level of feeding determined by ambient food availability and predation risk. To explore whole-ecosystem consequences of fish behavior, we embed our behavioral model within the Water Ecosystems Tool (WET), a contemporary end-to-end aquatic ecosystem model. The principle of optimality provides a robust and mechanistic framework for representing animal behavior that is relevant for complex models, and can provide a stabilizing effect on model dynamics. The model predicts an emergent functional response similar to Holling type III, but with richer dynamics and a more rigorous theoretical foundation. We show how adaptive fish behavior works to stabilize food web dynamics compared to a control model with no optimal behavior, and how changing the strength of the underlying trade-off has profound effects on trophic control and food web structure. Furthermore, we demonstrate how including fish behavior allows for an overall more realistic response of the model system to environmental perturbation in the form of nutrient enhancement. We discuss the structuring effects of behavioral adaptations in real ecosystems, and how approaches like this one may benefit aquatic ecological modeling. Our study further highlights how a mechanistic approach based on concepts from theoretical ecology can be successfully implemented in complex operational models resulting in improved dynamics and descriptive power.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tobias K. Andersen
- National Institute for Aquatic ResourcesTechnical University of DenmarkLyngbyDenmark
- Institute for EcoscienceAarhus UniversityAarhusDenmark
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3
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Hijar Islas AC, Milne A, Eizaguirre C, Huang W. Parasite-mediated predation determines infection in a complex predator-prey-parasite system. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20232468. [PMID: 38654648 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2468] [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: 11/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
The interplay of host-parasite and predator-prey interactions is critical in ecological dynamics because both predators and parasites can regulate communities. But what is the prevalence of infected prey and predators when a parasite is transmitted through trophic interactions considering stochastic demographic changes? Here, we modelled and analysed a complex predator-prey-parasite system, where parasites are transmitted from prey to predators. We varied parasite virulence and infection probabilities to investigate how those evolutionary factors determine species' coexistence and populations' composition. Our results show that parasite species go extinct when the infection probabilities of either host are small and that success in infecting the final host is more critical for the survival of the parasite. While our stochastic simulations are consistent with deterministic predictions, stochasticity plays an important role in the border regions between coexistence and extinction. As expected, the proportion of infected individuals increases with the infection probabilities. Interestingly, the relative abundances of infected and uninfected individuals can have opposite orders in the intermediate and final host populations. This counterintuitive observation shows that the interplay of direct and indirect parasite effects is a common driver of the prevalence of infection in a complex system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana C Hijar Islas
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Amy Milne
- School of Mathematical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
- Department of Mathematics, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Christophe Eizaguirre
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Weini Huang
- School of Mathematical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
- Group of Theoretical Biology, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
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4
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Gayathiri E, Prakash P, Pandiaraj S, Ramasubburayan R, Gaur A, Sekar M, Viswanathan D, Govindasamy R. Investigating the ecological implications of nanomaterials: Unveiling plants' notable responses to nano-pollution. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY : PPB 2024; 206:108261. [PMID: 38096734 DOI: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2023.108261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2023] [Revised: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 02/15/2024]
Abstract
The rapid advancement of nanotechnology has led to unprecedented innovations; however, it is crucial to analyze its environmental impacts carefully. This review thoroughly examines the complex relationship between plants and nanomaterials, highlighting their significant impact on ecological sustainability and ecosystem well-being. This study investigated the response of plants to nano-pollution stress, revealing the complex regulation of defense-related genes and proteins, and highlighting the sophisticated defense mechanisms in nature. Phytohormones play a crucial role in the complex molecular communication network that regulates plant responses to exposure to nanomaterials. The interaction between plants and nano-pollution influences plants' complex defense strategies. This reveals the interconnectedness of systems of nature. Nevertheless, these findings have implications beyond the plant domain. The incorporation of hyperaccumulator plants into pollution mitigation strategies has the potential to create more environmentally sustainable urban landscapes and improve overall environmental resilience. By utilizing these exceptional plants, we can create a future in which cities serve as centers of both innovation and ecological balance. Further investigation is necessary to explore the long-term presence of nanoparticles in the environment, their ability to induce genetic changes in plants over multiple generations, and their overall impact on ecosystems. In conclusion, this review summarizes significant scientific discoveries with broad implications beyond the confines of laboratories. This highlights the importance of understanding the interactions between plants and nanomaterials within the wider scope of environmental health. By considering these insights, we initiated a path towards the responsible utilization of nanomaterials, environmentally friendly management of pollution, and interdisciplinary exploration. We have the responsibility to balance scientific advancement and environmental preservation to create a sustainable future that combines nature's wisdom with human innovation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ekambaram Gayathiri
- Department of Plant Biology and Plant Biotechnology, Guru Nanak College (Autonomous), Chennai 600042, Tamil Nadu India
| | - Palanisamy Prakash
- Department of Botany, Periyar University, Periyar Palkalai Nagar, Salem 636011, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Saravanan Pandiaraj
- Department of Self-Development Skills, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ramasamy Ramasubburayan
- Department of Prosthodontics, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai 600077, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Arti Gaur
- Department of Life Sciences, Parul Institute of Applied Sciences, Parul University, Vadodara-390025, Gujarat, India
| | - Malathy Sekar
- Department of Botany, PG and Research Department of Botany Government Arts College for Men, (autonomous), Nandanam, Chennai 35, Tamilnadu, India
| | - Dhivya Viswanathan
- Centre for Nanobioscience, Department of Orthodontics, Saveetha Dental College, and Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai-600077, Tamilnadu, India
| | - Rajakumar Govindasamy
- Centre for Nanobioscience, Department of Orthodontics, Saveetha Dental College, and Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai-600077, Tamilnadu, India.
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5
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Hernández-León S. The biological carbon pump, diel vertical migration, and carbon dioxide removal. iScience 2023; 26:107835. [PMID: 38026165 PMCID: PMC10651677 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Carbon dioxide is increasing in the atmosphere promoting the faster environmental change of the Earth's recent history. Several marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) technologies were proposed to slow down CO2 in the atmosphere. Technologies now under experimentation are related to the increase in gravitational flux. Other mechanisms such as active flux, the transport performed by diel vertical migrants (DVMs) were not considered. We review the effect of DVMs in the epipelagic realm and the top-down promoted by these organisms upon zooplankton and microzooplankton, and their variability due to lunar cycles. A night source of weak light will increase epipelagic zooplankton biomass due to DVMs avoidance from the upper layers to escape predation, promoting DVMs to export this biomass by active flux once the illumination ceases. This mCDR method should be tested in the field as it will increase the efficiency of the biological carbon pump in the ocean.
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Affiliation(s)
- Santiago Hernández-León
- Instituto de Oceanografía y Cambio Global, IOCAG, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Unidad Asociada ULPGC-CSIC, Campus de Taliarte, Telde, 35214 Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain
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6
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Shin D, Park TH, Kim D, Lee CI, Lee SJ, Lee JH, Kang S, Park HJ. Spatial and temporal variations in trophic structure of fish assemblages in the Yellow Sea revealed by C and N stable isotopes. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2023; 196:115678. [PMID: 37864861 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115678] [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: 08/09/2023] [Revised: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/14/2023] [Indexed: 10/23/2023]
Abstract
In this study, we assessed spatial and temporal variations in the trophic structure of fish assemblages in the Yellow Sea during spring and summer 2022 and compared their isotopic niches between the Provisional Measure Zone (PMZ) and Korea's west areas (non-PMZ) within the Yellow Sea. Spatial and temporal differences in the diversity and dominant species of fish assemblages were found between the PMZ and non-PMZ areas between the seasons. The mean δ13C values of fish assemblages were relatively higher in the non-PMZ areas than in the PMZ areas. In contrast, no significant differences were found in the mean δ15N values between the areas. Generally, the isotopic niche indices were relatively narrow in the PMZ areas compared to those in the non-PMZ areas. Overall, these spatial differences between the PMZ and non-PMZ areas suggest different trophic diversity of fish assemblages, resulting from site-specific variations in environmental conditions and community composition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Donghoon Shin
- Fisheries Resources Research Center, National Institute of Fisheries Science, Tongyeong 53064, Republic of Korea
| | - Tae Hee Park
- Department of Marine Ecology and Environment, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Gangneung 25457, Republic of Korea
| | - Dongyoung Kim
- Department of Marine Ecology and Environment, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Gangneung 25457, Republic of Korea
| | - Chung Il Lee
- Department of Marine Ecology and Environment, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Gangneung 25457, Republic of Korea
| | - Seung-Jong Lee
- Fisheries Resources Research Center, National Institute of Fisheries Science, Tongyeong 53064, Republic of Korea
| | - Jeong-Hoon Lee
- Fisheries Resources Research Center, National Institute of Fisheries Science, Tongyeong 53064, Republic of Korea
| | - Sukyung Kang
- Fisheries Resources Research Center, National Institute of Fisheries Science, Tongyeong 53064, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyun Je Park
- Department of Marine Ecology and Environment, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Gangneung 25457, Republic of Korea.
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7
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Zhu L, Chen Y, Sun R, Zhang J, Hale L, Dumack K, Geisen S, Deng Y, Duan Y, Zhu B, Li Y, Liu W, Wang X, Griffiths BS, Bonkowski M, Zhou J, Sun B. Resource-dependent biodiversity and potential multi-trophic interactions determine belowground functional trait stability. MICROBIOME 2023; 11:95. [PMID: 37127665 PMCID: PMC10150482 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-023-01539-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2022] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND For achieving long-term sustainability of intensive agricultural practices, it is pivotal to understand belowground functional stability as belowground organisms play essential roles in soil biogeochemical cycling. It is commonly believed that resource availability is critical for controlling the soil biodiversity and belowground organism interactions that ultimately lead to the stabilization or collapse of terrestrial ecosystem functions, but evidence to support this belief is still limited. Here, we leveraged field experiments from the Chinese National Ecosystem Research Network (CERN) and two microcosm experiments mimicking high and low resource conditions to explore how resource availability mediates soil biodiversity and potential multi-trophic interactions to control functional trait stability. RESULTS We found that agricultural practice-induced higher resource availability increased potential cross-trophic interactions over 316% in fields, which in turn had a greater effect on functional trait stability, while low resource availability made the stability more dependent on the potential within trophic interactions and soil biodiversity. This large-scale pattern was confirmed by fine-scale microcosm systems, showing that microcosms with sufficient nutrient supply increase the proportion of potential cross-trophic interactions, which were positively associated with functional stability. Resource-driven belowground biodiversity and multi-trophic interactions ultimately feedback to the stability of plant biomass. CONCLUSIONS Our results indicated the importance of potential multi-trophic interactions in supporting belowground functional trait stability, especially when nutrients are sufficient, and also suggested the ecological benefits of fertilization programs in modern agricultural intensification. Video Abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lingyue Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Nanjing, 210008, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Yan Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Nanjing, 210008, China.
| | - Ruibo Sun
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Farmland Ecological Conservation and Pollution Prevention, College of Resources and Environment, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, 230036, China
| | - Jiabao Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Nanjing, 210008, China.
| | - Lauren Hale
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA
- United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Washington, DC, 20250, USA
| | - Kenneth Dumack
- Terrestrial Ecology, Institute of Zoology, University of Cologne, 50674, Cologne, Germany
| | - Stefan Geisen
- Laboratory of Nematology, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, 6708 PB, The Netherlands
- Department of Terrestrial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, 6700AB, The Netherlands
| | - Ye Deng
- CAS Key Laboratory for Environmental Biotechnology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Yinghua Duan
- Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Bo Zhu
- Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, China
| | - Yan Li
- Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011, China
| | - Wenzhao Liu
- Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chine, Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources , Yangling, 712100, China
| | - Xiaoyue Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Nanjing, 210008, China
| | - Bryan S Griffiths
- SRUC, Crop and Soil System Research Group, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH93JG, UK
| | - Michael Bonkowski
- Terrestrial Ecology, Institute of Zoology, University of Cologne, 50674, Cologne, Germany
| | - Jizhong Zhou
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA
| | - Bo Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Nanjing, 210008, China.
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8
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Carrillo CC, Charbonneau BR, Altman S, Keele JA, Pucherelli SF, Passamaneck YJ, Murphy AC, Swannack TM. Patterns of dreissenid mussel invasions in western US lakes within an integrated gravity model framework. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2023; 332:117383. [PMID: 36736086 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117383] [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: 12/29/2021] [Revised: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Freshwater invasive species, such as the quagga mussel (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis), are causing over $1 billion USD annually in damages to water infrastructure, recreation, and the environment. Once established, quagga and other dreissenid mussels are extremely difficult to eradicate. Preventing the spread of these invasives is critical and of high management concern. Invasive dreissenid establishment is predicated upon both successful dispersal from a source and suitable habitat in the uninfested waterbody to which they are transported. Recreational boaters have become predominant dispersal vectors making it possible to forecast the risk of invasion of waterbodies for more targeted management and prevention. We developed an integrated mussel dispersal model that couples a constrained gravity model and habitat suitability model to forecast future invasions. The model simulates boater movement between lakes, the likelihood of boats transporting mussels, and the likelihood that those mussels survive in the environmental conditions of the new lake. Model output was most sensitive to changes in boater threshold, then buffer zones, while not as sensitive to changes in habitat suitability. From an initial infested source pool of 11 among 402 Western inland US lakes, we forecast additional lakes infested in several possible simulation scenarios. Constraining movement reduced connectivity between waterbodies with amplifying effects at different distance levels. This model can be used to determine waterbodies most at risk for dreissenid mussel invasion and to highlight the importance of multifactor integrated models in environmental management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carra C Carrillo
- US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, MS, USA.
| | - Bianca R Charbonneau
- US Department of Defense Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Oak Ridge Institute of Science and Education, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
| | - Safra Altman
- US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, MS, USA
| | - Jacque A Keele
- Bureau of Reclamation, Technical Service Center, Hydraulic Investigations and Laboratory Services, Ecological Research Laboratory, Denver, CO, USA
| | - Sherri F Pucherelli
- Bureau of Reclamation, Technical Service Center, Hydraulic Investigations and Laboratory Services, Ecological Research Laboratory, Denver, CO, USA
| | - Yale J Passamaneck
- Bureau of Reclamation, Technical Service Center, Hydraulic Investigations and Laboratory Services, Ecological Research Laboratory, Denver, CO, USA
| | - Aaron C Murphy
- Bureau of Reclamation, Technical Service Center, Hydraulic Investigations and Laboratory Services, Ecological Research Laboratory, Denver, CO, USA
| | - Todd M Swannack
- US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, MS, USA; Department of Biology, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, USA
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Xu X, Yuan Y, Wang Z, Zheng T, Cai H, Yi M, Li T, Zhao Z, Chen Q, Sun W. Environmental DNA metabarcoding reveals the impacts of anthropogenic pollution on multitrophic aquatic communities across an urban river of western China. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 216:114512. [PMID: 36208790 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.114512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2022] [Revised: 09/29/2022] [Accepted: 10/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Anthropogenic activities are intensively affecting the structure and function of biological communities in river ecosystems. The effects of anthropogenic pollution on single-trophic community have been widely explored, but their effects on the structures and co-occurrence patterns of multitrophic communities remain largely unknown. In this study, we collected 13 water samples from the Neijiang River in Chengdu City of China, and identified totally 2352 bacterial, 207 algal, 204 macroinvertebrate, and 33 fish species based on the eDNA metabarcoding to systematically investigate the responses of multitrophic communities to environmental stressors. We observed significant variations in bacterial, algal, and macroinvertebrate community structures (except fish) with the pollution levels in the river. Network analyses indicated a more intensive interspecific co-occurrence pattern at high pollution level. Although taxonomic diversity of the multitrophic communities varied insignificantly, phylogenetic diversities of fish and algae showed significantly positive and negative associations with the pollution levels, respectively. We demonstrated the primary role of environmental filtering in driving the structures of bacteria, algae, and macroinvertebrates, while the fish was more controlled by dispersal limitation. Nitrogen was identified as the most important factor impacting the multitrophic community, where bacterial composition was mostly associated with NO3--N, algal spatial differentiation with TN, and macroinvertebrate and fish with NH4+-N. Further partial least-squares path model confirmed more important effect of environmental variables on the relative abundance of bacteria and algae, while macroinvertebrate and fish communities were directly driven by the algae-mediated pathway in the food web. Our study highlighted the necessity of integrated consideration of multitrophic biodiversity for riverine pollution management, and emphasized the importance of controlling nitrogen inputs targeting a healthy ecosystem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuming Xu
- College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences, Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China; State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of All Material Fluxes in River Ecosystems, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Yibin Yuan
- College of Water Resource & Hydropower, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, China; Chengdu Research Academy of Environmental Protection Science, Chengdu, 610072, China
| | - Zhaoli Wang
- Chengdu Research Academy of Environmental Protection Science, Chengdu, 610072, China
| | - Tong Zheng
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Health Risk Assessment, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Guangzhou, 510655, China
| | - Hetong Cai
- College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences, Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China; State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of All Material Fluxes in River Ecosystems, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Malan Yi
- Tianjin Research Institute for Water Transport Engineering, M. O. T, Tianjin, 300000, China
| | - Tianhong Li
- College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences, Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China; State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of All Material Fluxes in River Ecosystems, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Zhijie Zhao
- College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences, Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China; State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of All Material Fluxes in River Ecosystems, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Qian Chen
- College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences, Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China; State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of All Material Fluxes in River Ecosystems, Beijing, 100871, China.
| | - Weiling Sun
- College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences, Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China; State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of All Material Fluxes in River Ecosystems, Beijing, 100871, China
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10
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Giacomini HC. Metabolic responses of predators to prey density. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.980812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The metabolic cost of foraging is the dark energy of ecological systems. It is much harder to observe and to measure than its beneficial counterpart, prey consumption, yet it is not inconsequential for the dynamics of prey and predator populations. Here I define the metabolic response as the change in energy expenditure of predators in response to changes in prey density. It is analogous and intrinsically linked to the functional response, which is the change in consumption rate with prey density, as they are both shaped by adjustments in foraging activity. These adjustments are adaptive, ubiquitous in nature, and are implicitly assumed by models of predator–prey dynamics that impose consumption saturation in functional responses. By ignoring the associated metabolic responses, these models violate the principle of energy conservation and likely underestimate the strength of predator–prey interactions. Using analytical and numerical approaches, I show that missing this component of interaction has broad consequences for dynamical stability and for the robustness of ecosystems to persistent environmental or anthropogenic stressors. Negative metabolic responses – those resulting from decreases in foraging activity when more prey is available, and arguably the most common – lead to lower local stability of food webs and a faster pace of change in population sizes, including higher excitability, higher frequency of oscillations, and quicker return times to equilibrium when stable. They can also buffer the effects of press perturbations, such as harvesting, on target populations and on their prey through top-down trophic cascades, but are expected to magnify bottom-up cascades, including the effects of nutrient enrichment or the effects of altering lower trophic levels that can be caused by environmental forcing and climate change. These results have implications for any resource management approach that relies on models of food web dynamics, which is the case of many applications of ecosystem-based fisheries management. Finally, besides having their own individual effects, metabolic responses have the potential to greatly alter, or even invert, functional response-stability relationships, and therefore can be critical to an integral understanding of predation and its influence on population dynamics and persistence.
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11
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Scaling from optimal behavior to population dynamics and ecosystem function. ECOLOGICAL COMPLEXITY 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecocom.2022.101027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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12
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Gorta SBZ, Callaghan CT, Pedler RD, Read JL, West RS, Kingsford RT. Habitat associations of dryland avian communities during an extended dry period. AUSTRAL ECOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/aec.13251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Simon B. Z. Gorta
- Centre for Ecosystem Science School of Biological Earth and Environmental Sciences UNSW Sydney Sydney New South Wales Australia
| | - Corey T. Callaghan
- Centre for Ecosystem Science School of Biological Earth and Environmental Sciences UNSW Sydney Sydney New South Wales Australia
| | - Reece D. Pedler
- Centre for Ecosystem Science School of Biological Earth and Environmental Sciences UNSW Sydney Sydney New South Wales Australia
| | - John L. Read
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences University of Adelaide Adelaide South Australia Australia
| | - Rebecca S. West
- Centre for Ecosystem Science School of Biological Earth and Environmental Sciences UNSW Sydney Sydney New South Wales Australia
| | - Richard T. Kingsford
- Centre for Ecosystem Science School of Biological Earth and Environmental Sciences UNSW Sydney Sydney New South Wales Australia
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13
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Tolerance of wolves shapes desert canid communities in the Middle East. Glob Ecol Conserv 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
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14
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Koporikov AR, Stepanov LN, Yarushina MI, Bogdanov VD. Impact of the Development of Hydrocarbon Deposits on Water Ecosystems of the Yamal Peninsula. RUSS J ECOL+ 2022. [DOI: 10.1134/s106741362204004x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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15
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Vagnon C, Rohr RP, Bersier LF, Cattanéo F, Guillard J, Frossard V. Combining food web theory and population dynamics to assess the impact of invasive species. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.913954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The impacts of invasive species on resident communities are driven by a tangle of ecological interactions difficult to quantify empirically. Combining a niche model with a population dynamic model, both allometrically parametrized, may represent a consistent framework to investigate invasive species impacts on resident communities in a food web context when empirical data are scarce. We used this framework to assess the ecological consequences of an invasive apex predator (Silurus glanis) in peri-Alpine lake food webs. Both increases and decreases of resident species abundances were highlighted and differed when accounting for different S. glanis body sizes. Complementarily, the prominence of indirect effects, such as trophic cascades, suggested that common approaches may only capture a restricted fraction of invasion consequences through direct predation or competition. By leveraging widely available biodiversity data, our approach may provide relevant insights for a comprehensive assessment and management of invasive species impacts on aquatic ecosystems.
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16
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Rahman T, Candolin U. Linking animal behavior to ecosystem change in disturbed environments. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.893453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Environmental disturbances often cause individuals to change their behavior. The behavioral responses can induce a chain of reactions through the network of species interactions, via consumptive and trait mediated connections. Given that species interactions define ecosystem structure and functioning, changes to these interactions often have ecological repercussions. Here, we explore the transmission of behavioral responses through the network of species interactions, and how the responses influence ecological conditions. We describe the underlying mechanisms and the ultimate impact that the behavioral responses can have on ecosystem structure and functioning, including biodiversity and ecosystems stability and services. We explain why behavioral responses of some species have a larger impact than that of others on ecosystems, and why research should focus on these species and their interactions. With the work, we synthesize existing theory and empirical evidence to provide a conceptual framework that links behavior responses to altered species interactions, community dynamics, and ecosystem processes. Considering that species interactions link biodiversity to ecosystem functioning, a deeper understanding of behavioral responses and their causes and consequences can improve our knowledge of the mechanisms and pathways through which human activities alter ecosystems. This knowledge can improve our ability to predict the effects of ongoing disturbances on communities and ecosystems and decide on the interventions needed to mitigate negative effects.
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17
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Heath MR, Benkort D, Brierley AS, Daewel U, Laverick JH, Proud R, Speirs DC. Ecosystem approach to harvesting in the Arctic: Walking the tightrope between exploitation and conservation in the Barents Sea. AMBIO 2022; 51:456-470. [PMID: 34478036 PMCID: PMC8692644 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-021-01616-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Revised: 08/13/2021] [Accepted: 08/16/2021] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Projecting the consequences of warming and sea-ice loss for Arctic marine food web and fisheries is challenging due to the intricate relationships between biology and ice. We used StrathE2EPolar, an end-to-end (microbes-to-megafauna) food web model incorporating ice-dependencies to simulate climate-fisheries interactions in the Barents Sea. The model was driven by output from the NEMO-MEDUSA earth system model, assuming RCP 8.5 atmospheric forcing. The Barents Sea was projected to be > 95% ice-free all year-round by the 2040s compared to > 50% in the 2010s, and approximately 2 °C warmer. Fisheries management reference points (FMSY and BMSY) for demersal fish (cod, haddock) were projected to increase by around 6%, indicating higher productivity. However, planktivorous fish (capelin, herring) reference points were projected to decrease by 15%, and upper trophic levels (birds, mammals) were strongly sensitive to planktivorous fish harvesting. The results indicate difficult trade-offs ahead, between harvesting and conservation of ecosystem structure and function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael R. Heath
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Strathclyde, Livingstone Tower, 26 Richmond Street, Glasgow, G1 1XH Scotland, UK
| | - Déborah Benkort
- Institute for Coastal Systems - Analysis and Modelling, Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, Max-Planck-Str. 1, 21502 Geesthacht, Germany
| | - Andrew S. Brierley
- Pelagic Ecology Research Group, Scottish Oceans Institute, Gatty Marine Laboratory, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Fife, KY16 8LB Scotland, UK
| | - Ute Daewel
- Institute for Coastal Systems - Analysis and Modelling, Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, Max-Planck-Str. 1, 21502 Geesthacht, Germany
| | - Jack H. Laverick
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Strathclyde, Livingstone Tower, 26 Richmond Street, Glasgow, G1 1XH Scotland, UK
| | - Roland Proud
- Pelagic Ecology Research Group, Scottish Oceans Institute, Gatty Marine Laboratory, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Fife, KY16 8LB Scotland, UK
| | - Douglas C. Speirs
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Strathclyde, Livingstone Tower, 26 Richmond Street, Glasgow, G1 1XH Scotland, UK
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18
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Urbano VDA, Delanira-Santos D, Benedito E. The role of cladocerans in green and brown food web coupling. IHERINGIA. SERIE ZOOLOGIA 2022. [DOI: 10.1590/1678-4766e2022022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Cladocerans, an important zooplankton community, are consumers from the base of the food web of aquatic environments. We investigated the contribution of producers (phytoplankton and periphytic biofilm) and particulate organic carbon (POC). Collections were carried out in lakes of the Upper Paraná River Floodplain, the last stretch free of dams in the second-largest South American basin. Isotope ratios (δ13C and δ15N) were measured, besides the contributions of probable food sources to the cladocerans biomass. The phytoplankton constituted the source of carbon for cladocerans, followed by POC. Thus this work, in addition to emphasizing the importance of cladocerans in nutrient cycling, highlighted the need for the conservation of environments surrounding the lakes as they are the sources of organic matter for aquatic communities. Besides, the analyzed zooplanktonic organisms demonstrated their role in the interconnection between the green and brown food webs, which have been studied separately for a long time.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Driele Delanira-Santos
- Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Brazil; Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia de Ambientes Aquáticos Continentais, Brazil
| | - Evanilde Benedito
- Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Brazil; Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia de Ambientes Aquáticos Continentais, Brazil
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19
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Amaral DC, Dunck B, Braghin LSM, Fernandes UL, Bomfim FF, Bonecker CC, Lansac-Tôha FA. Predation by an omnivorous fish and food availability alter zooplankton functional diversity: a microcosm approach. AN ACAD BRAS CIENC 2021; 93:e20200778. [PMID: 34431864 DOI: 10.1590/0001-3765202120200778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2020] [Accepted: 03/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies considering the functional traits of organisms, populations, and communities functional indices increase the understanding of many factors on ecosystem functioning. Here, we analyze the predation effect (by fish) on zooplankton functional diversity and the effects of biomass and density of periphytic algae on zooplankton feeding type trait and body size. We expect that intense predation by fish on zooplankton leads to higher values of zooplankton functional diversity and that food resource will be positively related to the abundance of zooplankton trait and body size. For that, microcosms were established (T1- fish-absence, and T2- fish-presence, both with periphytic algae as food). We observed that fish presence decreased zooplankton functional diversity through modifications in the availability of nutrients and algae, through the middle-out effect. We also observed that body size had a negative relationship with the food resource, reaffirming that high food availability in subtropical lakes is linked to small-bodied zooplankton. The raptorial copepods covariate positively with the periphytic algae, which was an alternative food resource and, in this case, the main form of carbon input into the system. In this study, omnivorous fish reduced zooplankton functional traits, which can alter the energy stock and energy flow in aquatic ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diogo C Amaral
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia de Ambientes Aquáticos Continentais, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Núcleo de Pesquisa em Limnologia, Ictiologia e Aquicultura, Av. Colombo, 5790, Campus Universitário, 87020-900 Maringá, PR, Brazil
| | - Bárbara Dunck
- Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia/UFRA, Instituto Socioambiental e dos Recursos Hídricos/ISARH, campus Belém, Avenida Perimetral, de 1501/1502 a 5004/5005, 66077-830 Belém, PA, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia/PPGECO, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Augusto Corrêa, 01, campus Guamá, 66075-110 Belém, PA, Brazil
| | - Louizi S M Braghin
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia de Ambientes Aquáticos Continentais, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Núcleo de Pesquisa em Limnologia, Ictiologia e Aquicultura, Av. Colombo, 5790, Campus Universitário, 87020-900 Maringá, PR, Brazil
| | - Ubirajara L Fernandes
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia de Ambientes Aquáticos Continentais, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Núcleo de Pesquisa em Limnologia, Ictiologia e Aquicultura, Av. Colombo, 5790, Campus Universitário, 87020-900 Maringá, PR, Brazil
| | - Francieli F Bomfim
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia de Ambientes Aquáticos Continentais, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Núcleo de Pesquisa em Limnologia, Ictiologia e Aquicultura, Av. Colombo, 5790, Campus Universitário, 87020-900 Maringá, PR, Brazil
| | - Cláudia C Bonecker
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia de Ambientes Aquáticos Continentais, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Núcleo de Pesquisa em Limnologia, Ictiologia e Aquicultura, Av. Colombo, 5790, Campus Universitário, 87020-900 Maringá, PR, Brazil
| | - Fábio A Lansac-Tôha
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia de Ambientes Aquáticos Continentais, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Núcleo de Pesquisa em Limnologia, Ictiologia e Aquicultura, Av. Colombo, 5790, Campus Universitário, 87020-900 Maringá, PR, Brazil
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20
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Burgess BJ, Purves D, Mace G, Murrell DJ. Classifying ecosystem stressor interactions: Theory highlights the data limitations of the additive null model and the difficulty in revealing ecological surprises. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2021; 27:3052-3065. [PMID: 33830596 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2020] [Revised: 03/05/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2021] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Understanding how multiple co-occurring environmental stressors combine to affect biodiversity and ecosystem services is an on-going grand challenge for ecology. Currently, progress has been made through accumulating large numbers of smaller-scale empirical studies that are then investigated by meta-analyses to detect general patterns. There is particular interest in detecting, understanding and predicting 'ecological surprises' where stressors interact in a non-additive (e.g. antagonistic or synergistic) manner, but so far few general results have emerged. However, the ability of the statistical tools to recover non-additive interactions in the face of data uncertainty is unstudied, so crucially, we do not know how well the empirical results reflect the true stressor interactions. Here, we investigate the performance of the commonly implemented additive null model. A meta-analysis of a large (545 interactions) empirical dataset for the effects of pairs of stressors on freshwater communities reveals additive interactions dominate individual studies, whereas pooling the data leads to an antagonistic summary interaction class. However, analyses of simulated data from food chain models, where the underlying interactions are known, suggest both sets of results may be due to observation error within the data. Specifically, we show that the additive null model is highly sensitive to observation error, with non-additive interactions being reliably detected at only unrealistically low levels of data uncertainty. Similarly, plausible levels of observation error lead to meta-analyses reporting antagonistic summary interaction classifications even when synergies co-dominate. Therefore, while our empirical results broadly agree with those of previous freshwater meta-analyses, we conclude these patterns may be driven by statistical sampling rather than any ecological mechanisms. Further investigation of candidate null models used to define stressor-pair interactions is essential, and once any artefacts are accounted for, the so-called 'ecological surprises' may be more frequent than was previously assumed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin J Burgess
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK
| | | | - Georgina Mace
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK
| | - David J Murrell
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK
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21
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Galiana N, Arnoldi JF, Barbier M, Acloque A, de Mazancourt C, Loreau M. Can biomass distribution across trophic levels predict trophic cascades? Ecol Lett 2020; 24:464-476. [PMID: 33314592 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2020] [Accepted: 11/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The biomass distribution across trophic levels (biomass pyramid) and cascading responses to perturbations (trophic cascades) are archetypal representatives of the interconnected set of static and dynamical properties of food chains. A vast literature has explored their respective ecological drivers, sometimes generating correlations between them. Here we instead reveal a fundamental connection: both pyramids and cascades reflect the dynamical sensitivity of the food chain to changes in species intrinsic rates. We deduce a direct relationship between cascades and pyramids, modulated by what we call trophic dissipation - a synthetic concept that encodes the contribution of top-down propagation of consumer losses in the biomass pyramid. Predictable across-ecosystem patterns emerge when systems are in similar regimes of trophic dissipation. Data from 31 aquatic mesocosm experiments demonstrate how our approach can reveal the causal mechanisms linking trophic cascades and biomass distributions, thus providing a road map to deduce reliable predictions from empirical patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Núria Galiana
- Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station, CNRS, Moulis, 09200, France
| | - Jean-François Arnoldi
- Zoology Department, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Ireland
| | - Matthieu Barbier
- Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station, CNRS, Moulis, 09200, France
| | - Amandine Acloque
- Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station, CNRS, Moulis, 09200, France
| | | | - Michel Loreau
- Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station, CNRS, Moulis, 09200, France
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22
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Exploring trophic interactions and cascades in the Baltic Sea using a complex end-to-end ecosystem model with extensive food web integration. Ecol Modell 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2020.109281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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23
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Heath MR, Speirs DC, Thurlbeck I, Wilson RJ. S
trath
E2E2: An
r
package for modelling the dynamics of marine food webs and fisheries. Methods Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Michael R. Heath
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics University of Strathclyde Glasgow UK
| | - Douglas C. Speirs
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics University of Strathclyde Glasgow UK
| | - Ian Thurlbeck
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics University of Strathclyde Glasgow UK
| | - Robert J. Wilson
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics University of Strathclyde Glasgow UK
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24
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Chan AA, Banks-Leite C. Habitat modification mediates the strength of trophic cascades on oak trees. Perspect Ecol Conserv 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pecon.2020.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
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25
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Nagelkerken I, Goldenberg SU, Ferreira CM, Ullah H, Connell SD. Trophic pyramids reorganize when food web architecture fails to adjust to ocean change. Science 2020; 369:829-832. [PMID: 32792395 DOI: 10.1126/science.aax0621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2019] [Revised: 03/31/2020] [Accepted: 06/23/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
As human activities intensify, the structures of ecosystems and their food webs often reorganize. Through the study of mesocosms harboring a diverse benthic coastal community, we reveal that food web architecture can be inflexible under ocean warming and acidification and unable to compensate for the decline or proliferation of taxa. Key stabilizing processes, including functional redundancy, trophic compensation, and species substitution, were largely absent under future climate conditions. A trophic pyramid emerged in which biomass expanded at the base and top but contracted in the center. This structure may characterize a transitionary state before collapse into shortened, bottom-heavy food webs that characterize ecosystems subject to persistent abiotic stress. We show that where food web architecture lacks adjustability, the adaptive capacity of ecosystems to global change is weak and ecosystem degradation likely.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Nagelkerken
- Southern Seas Ecology Laboratories, School of Biological Sciences and The Environment Institute, DX 650 418, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia.
| | - Silvan U Goldenberg
- Southern Seas Ecology Laboratories, School of Biological Sciences and The Environment Institute, DX 650 418, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia.,GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, Kiel 24105, Germany
| | - Camilo M Ferreira
- Southern Seas Ecology Laboratories, School of Biological Sciences and The Environment Institute, DX 650 418, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
| | - Hadayet Ullah
- Southern Seas Ecology Laboratories, School of Biological Sciences and The Environment Institute, DX 650 418, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
| | - Sean D Connell
- Southern Seas Ecology Laboratories, School of Biological Sciences and The Environment Institute, DX 650 418, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
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26
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Wang R, Zhang X, Shi YS, Li YY, Wu J, He F, Chen XY. Habitat fragmentation changes top-down and bottom-up controls of food webs. Ecology 2020; 101:e03062. [PMID: 32239497 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2019] [Accepted: 02/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Top-down and bottom-up controls regulate the structure and stability of ecosystems, but their relative roles in terrestrial systems have been debated. Here we studied a hydro-inundated land-bridge system in subtropical China and tested the relative importance of these two controls in determining the rodent-mediated regeneration of a locally dominant tree species. Our results showed that both controls operated in terrestrial habitats and that their relative importance switched as habitat size changed. Habitat loss initially removed predators of rodents that released rodent populations and triggered massive seed predation (top-down control), leading to reduced seedling establishment. A further reduction in habitat size led to decrease in rodent population that was supposed to increase seedling survival of the tree species, but the decline in habitat size deteriorated the abiotic environments (bottom-up control) that severely prevented seedling recruitment. As the ongoing global land use change is creating increasing number of small-sized forest fragments, our findings provide novel insights into the restoration of seriously fragmented forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rong Wang
- Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China.,Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai, 200092, China
| | - Xin Zhang
- Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
| | - Yi-Su Shi
- Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
| | - Yuan-Yuan Li
- Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
| | - Jianguo Wu
- School of Life Sciences & Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, 85287-4501, USA
| | - Fangliang He
- Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China.,Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2H1, Canada
| | - Xiao-Yong Chen
- Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China.,Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai, 200092, China
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27
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Rossberg AG, Gaedke U, Kratina P. Dome patterns in pelagic size spectra reveal strong trophic cascades. Nat Commun 2019; 10:4396. [PMID: 31562299 PMCID: PMC6764997 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-12289-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2018] [Accepted: 08/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
In ecological communities, especially the pelagic zones of aquatic ecosystems, certain body-size ranges are often over-represented compared to others. Community size spectra, the distributions of community biomass over the logarithmic body-mass axis, tend to exhibit regularly spaced local maxima, called “domes”, separated by steep troughs. Contrasting established theory, we explain these dome patterns as manifestations of top-down trophic cascades along aquatic food chains. Compiling high quality size-spectrum data and comparing these with a size-spectrum model introduced in this study, we test this theory and develop a detailed picture of the mechanisms by which bottom-up and top-down effects interact to generate dome patterns. Results imply that strong top-down trophic cascades are common in freshwater communities, much more than hitherto demonstrated, and may arise in nutrient rich marine systems as well. Transferring insights from the general theory of non-linear pattern formation to domes patterns, we provide new interpretations of past lake-manipulation experiments. An important question in ecology is how much species at higher trophic levels affect lower levels through top-down cascades. Here the authors show through analyses of pelagic size spectra that such cascades are strong in freshwater systems and can also arise in nutrient rich marine systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Axel G Rossberg
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Rd, London, E1 4NS, UK. .,Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Pakefield Rd, Lowestoft, NR33 0HT, UK. .,International Initiative for Theoretical Ecology, Unit 10, 317 Essex Road, London, N1 2EE, UK.
| | - Ursula Gaedke
- Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Modeling, Institute for Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Am Neuen Palais 10, 14469, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Pavel Kratina
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Rd, London, E1 4NS, UK.
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28
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Effects of habitat, leaf damage and leaf rolling on the predation risk of caterpillars in the tropical rain forest of Borneo. JOURNAL OF TROPICAL ECOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.1017/s0266467419000191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
AbstractAddressing what affects predation among caterpillars, we conducted an experiment in a Bornean rain forest on 212 clay models of Tortricidae caterpillars (the herbivore) and 53 trees of Kopsia pauciflora (the host), located either in the open or under closed canopies. We predicted that the frequency of predatory attacks towards caterpillars increases (1) in canopy gaps and (2) on leaves damaged by herbivory, but (3) decreases among caterpillars that wrap their body in leaves. Each plant with caterpillar models was consecutively allocated to one of four treatments: caterpillars artificially rolled in leaves vs caterpillars on unrolled leaves, and caterpillars on artificially damaged vs undamaged leaves. Each time, caterpillar models were placed on the plants for 48 h, and then replaced with new models that were subjected to a new treatment. On average, our caterpillar models had a 21% chance of being attacked per 24 h. More attacks were performed by insects (81.6%) than birds. The attack frequency did not depend on the canopy cover or on leaf damage, but decreased among models rolled in leaves. This pattern was mainly attributable to insect attacks, which were also more frequent than bird attacks. Overall, the Tortricidae caterpillars seem to suffer comparable predation rates in the open and under closed canopies irrespective of the herbivory damage of leaves, but their leaf-rolling behaviour might reduce predation.
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29
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Fahimipour AK, Levin DA, Anderson KE. Omnivory does not preclude strong trophic cascades. Ecosphere 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Ashkaan K. Fahimipour
- Department of Computer Science University of California Davis California USA
- Biology and the Built Environment Center University of Oregon Eugene Oregon USA
| | - David A. Levin
- Department of Mathematics University of Oregon Eugene Oregon USA
| | - Kurt E. Anderson
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, & Organismal Biology University of California Riverside California USA
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30
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Abrams PA. How Does the Evolution of Universal Ecological Traits Affect Population Size? Lessons from Simple Models. Am Nat 2019; 193:814-829. [PMID: 31094600 DOI: 10.1086/703155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
This article argues that adaptive evolutionary change in a consumer species should frequently decrease (and maladaptive change should increase) population size, producing adaptive decline. This conclusion is based on analysis of multiple consumer-resource models that examine evolutionary change in consumer traits affecting the universal ecological parameters of attack rate, conversion efficiency, and mortality. Two scenarios are investigated. In one, evolutionary equilibrium is initially maintained by opposing effects on the attack rate and other growth rate parameters; the environment or trait is perturbed, and the trait then evolves to a new (or back to a previous) equilibrium. Here evolution exhibits adaptive decline in up to one-half of all cases. The other scenario assumes a genetic perturbation having purely fitness-increasing effects. Here adaptive decline in the consumer requires that the resource be self-reproducing and overexploited and requires a sufficient increase in the attack rate. However, if the resource exhibits adaptive defense via behavior or evolution, adaptive decline may characterize consumer traits affecting all parameters. Favorable environmental change producing parameter shifts similar to those produced by adaptive evolution has similar counterintuitive effects on consumer population size. Many different food web models have already been shown to exhibit such counterintuitive changes in some species.
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31
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Reum JCP, Blanchard JL, Holsman KK, Aydin K, Punt AE. Species‐specific ontogenetic diet shifts attenuate trophic cascades and lengthen food chains in exploited ecosystems. OIKOS 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.05630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan C. P. Reum
- School of Aquatic and Fishery SciencesUniv. of Washington1122 NE Boat StSeattle WA 98102 USA
- Centre for Marine Socioecology, Univ. of Hobart TAS Australia
| | - Julia L. Blanchard
- Inst. for Marine and Antarctic StudiesUniv. of Tasmania Hobart TAS Australia
- Centre for Marine Socioecology, Univ. of Hobart TAS Australia
| | - Kirstin K. Holsman
- Alaska Fisheries Science CenterNational Marine Fisheries ServiceNOAA Seattle WA USA
| | - Kerim Aydin
- Alaska Fisheries Science CenterNational Marine Fisheries ServiceNOAA Seattle WA USA
| | - André E. Punt
- School of Aquatic and Fishery SciencesUniv. of Washington1122 NE Boat StSeattle WA 98102 USA
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Yan J, Cui B, Huang H, O'Flynn S, Bai J, Ysebaert T. Functional consumers regulate the effect of availability of subsidy on trophic cascades in the Yellow River Delta, China. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2019; 140:157-164. [PMID: 30803629 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.01.045] [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: 11/13/2018] [Revised: 01/22/2019] [Accepted: 01/22/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the environmental context where heterogeneous ecological processes affect biotic interactions is a key aim of ecological research. However, mechanisms underlying spatial variation in trophic interactions linked to resource availability across ecosystem gradients remains unclear. We experimentally manipulated the interactive effects of predator fish and quantitative gradient of leaf detritus on macroinvertebrates and benthic algae. We found that non-linear changes in the strength of trophic cascades were strongly linked to the retention rates of experimental leaf detritus and also determined by predatory consumers. Retention rate of leaf detritus influenced the recruitment of predatory invertebrates and foraging preference of predators, accounting for largely the variations in shift of strengthening and weakening trophic cascades. Our results highlight the importance to identify joint processes of recruitment and foraging responses of functional consumer in understanding the impacts of both anthropogenic and natural alterations in subsidy on trophic interaction of coastal food webs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaguo Yan
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 140, 4400 AC Yerseke, the Netherlands
| | - Baoshan Cui
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
| | - Honghui Huang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Fishery Ecology and Environment, South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Guangzhou 510300, China
| | - Sarah O'Flynn
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 140, 4400 AC Yerseke, the Netherlands
| | - Junhong Bai
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Tom Ysebaert
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 140, 4400 AC Yerseke, the Netherlands
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Tian H, Stenseth NC. The ecological dynamics of hantavirus diseases: From environmental variability to disease prevention largely based on data from China. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2019; 13:e0006901. [PMID: 30789905 PMCID: PMC6383869 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Hantaviruses can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) in the Americas and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in Eurasia. In recent decades, repeated outbreaks of hantavirus disease have led to public concern and have created a global public health burden. Hantavirus spillover from natural hosts into human populations could be considered an ecological process, in which environmental forces, behavioral determinants of exposure, and dynamics at the human–animal interface affect human susceptibility and the epidemiology of the disease. In this review, we summarize the progress made in understanding hantavirus epidemiology and rodent reservoir population biology. We mainly focus on three species of rodent hosts with longitudinal studies of sufficient scale: the striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius, the main reservoir host for Hantaan virus [HTNV], which causes HFRS) in Asia, the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus, the main reservoir host for Sin Nombre virus [SNV], which causes HPS) in North America, and the bank vole (Myodes glareolus, the main reservoir host for Puumala virus [PUUV], which causes HFRS) in Europe. Moreover, we discuss the influence of ecological factors on human hantavirus disease outbreaks and provide an overview of research perspectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huaiyu Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, College of Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- * E-mail: (HT); (NCS)
| | - Nils Chr. Stenseth
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Blindern, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Earth System Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
- * E-mail: (HT); (NCS)
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Carroll EL, Gallego R, Sewell MA, Zeldis J, Ranjard L, Ross HA, Tooman LK, O'Rorke R, Newcomb RD, Constantine R. Multi-locus DNA metabarcoding of zooplankton communities and scat reveal trophic interactions of a generalist predator. Sci Rep 2019; 9:281. [PMID: 30670720 PMCID: PMC6342929 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-36478-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2018] [Accepted: 11/22/2018] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
To understand the ecosystem dynamics that underpin the year-round presence of a large generalist consumer, the Bryde's whale (Balaenoptera edeni brydei), we use a DNA metabarcoding approach and systematic zooplankton surveys to investigate seasonal and regional changes in zooplankton communities and if whale diet reflects such changes. Twenty-four zooplankton community samples were collected from three regions throughout the Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand, over two temperature regimes (warm and cool seasons), as well as 20 samples of opportunistically collected Bryde's whale scat. Multi-locus DNA barcode libraries were constructed from 18S and COI gene fragments, representing a trade-off between identification and resolution of metazoan taxa. Zooplankton community OTU occurrence and relative read abundance showed regional and seasonal differences based on permutational analyses of variance in both DNA barcodes, with significant changes in biodiversity indices linked to season in COI only. In contrast, we did not find evidence that Bryde's whale diet shows seasonal or regional trends, but instead indicated clear prey preferences for krill-like crustaceans, copepods, salps and ray-finned fishes independent of prey availability. The year-round presence of Bryde's whales in the Hauraki Gulf is likely associated with the patterns of distribution and abundance of these key prey items.
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Affiliation(s)
- E L Carroll
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
| | - R Gallego
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - M A Sewell
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - J Zeldis
- National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - L Ranjard
- Research School of Biology, the Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - H A Ross
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - L K Tooman
- The Institute for Plant & Food Research, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - R O'Rorke
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - R D Newcomb
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
- The Institute for Plant & Food Research, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - R Constantine
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
- Institute of Marine Science, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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Parratt SR, Laine A. Pathogen dynamics under both bottom-up host resistance and top-down hyperparasite attack. J Appl Ecol 2018; 55:2976-2985. [PMID: 30449900 PMCID: PMC6220889 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2018] [Accepted: 04/19/2018] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
The relative importance of bottom-up versus top-down control of population dynamics has been the focus of much debate. In infectious disease biology, research is typically focused on the bottom-up process of host resistance, wherein the direction of control flows from the lower to the higher trophic level to impact on pathogen population size and epidemiology. However, the importance of top-down control by a pathogen's natural enemies has been mostly overlooked.Here, we explore the effects of, and interaction between, host genotype (i.e., genetic susceptibility to pathogen infection) and infection by a hyperparasitic fungus, Ampelomyces spp., on the establishment and early epidemic growth and transmission of a powdery mildew plant pathogen (Podosphaera plantaginis). We used a semi-natural field experiment to contrast the impacts of hyperparasite infection, host-plant resistance and spatial structure to reveal the key factors that determine pathogen spread. We then used a laboratory-based inoculation approach to test whether the field experiment results hold across multiple pathogen-host genetic combinations and to explore hyperparasite effects on the pathogen's later life-history stages.We found that hyperparasite infection had a negligible effect on within-host infection development and between-host spread of the pathogen during the onset of epidemics. In contrast, host-plant resistance was the major determinant of whether plants became infected, and host genotype and proximity to an infection source determined infection severity.Our laboratory study showed that, while the interaction between host and pathogen genotypes was the key determinant of infection outcome, hyperparasitism did, on average, reduce the severity of infection. Moreover, hyperparasite infection negatively influenced the production of the pathogen's overwintering structures. Synthesis and applications. Our results suggest that bottom-up host resistance affects pathogen spread, but top-down control of powdery mildew pathogens is likely more effective against later life-history stages. Further, while hyperparasitism in this system can reduce early pathogen growth under stable laboratory conditions, this effect is not detectable in a semi-natural environment. Considering the effects of hyperparasites at multiple points in pathogen's life history will be important when considering hyperparasite-derived biocontrol measures in other natural and agricultural systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven R. Parratt
- Research Centre for Ecological ChangeUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland
| | - Anna‐Liisa Laine
- Research Centre for Ecological ChangeUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland
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Wang B, Segar ST, Deng GZ, Luo TX, Lin H, Peng YQ. Variation in trophic cascade strength is triggered by top-down process in an ant-wasp-fig system. OIKOS 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.05653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Bo Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences; CN-666303 Menglun PR China
| | - Simon T. Segar
- Dept of Ecology, Inst. of Entomology, Biology Centre CAS, Ceske Budejovice; Czech Republic
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Inst. of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice; Czech Republic
| | - Gui-Zhong Deng
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences; CN-666303 Menglun PR China
| | - Tian-Xun Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Inst. of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Science; Kunming, Yunnan PR China
| | - Hua Lin
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences; CN-666303 Menglun PR China
| | - Yan-Qiong Peng
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences; CN-666303 Menglun PR China
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37
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Links between fish abundance and ocean biogeochemistry as recorded in marine sediments. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0199420. [PMID: 30067749 PMCID: PMC6070179 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0199420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2016] [Accepted: 06/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Fish populations are linked to ocean biogeochemistry by their reliance on primary production for food, and dissolved oxygen to breathe. It is also possible that marine fish modify biogeochemical dynamics, as do freshwater fish, through top-down trophic cascades, but there has been relatively little consideration of this possibility. This lack of consideration may reflect a lack of importance; alternatively, it may simply reflect the lack of appropriate observations with which to constrain such relationships. Here, we draw attention to the potential use of marine sediments as long-term simultaneous monitors of both fish abundance and marine biogeochemical dynamics. We compile published sediment proxy records of fish abundance from the west coasts of the Americas, and compare them with biogeochemical proxy measurements made at the same sites. Despite the challenges of using sediment records and the potential convolution of ecological and climatic signals, we find a small number of statistically significant relationships between fish debris and biogeochemical variables, at least some of which are likely to reflect causal relationships. Considering TOC, the most commonly-measured biogeochemical variable, some positive correlations with fish abundance are found, consistent with bottom-up control of fish abundance by primary production, or a planktivore-herbivore-phytoplankton trophic cascade. Negative correlations are also found, which could reflect sedimentary processes, the influence of upwelling-driven oxygen and nutrient dynamics on primary production and fish populations, and/or impacts of fish stocks on carbon fluxes by altering the recycling of carbon within the water column. Although the number of available measurements is too small to draw strong conclusions, the results point to plausible cases of bottom-up forcing, trophic cascades, and influence of dissolved oxygen concentrations on fish habitat.
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38
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Effects of contaminants and trophic cascade regulation on food chain stability: Application to cadmium soil pollution on small mammals – Raptor systems. Ecol Modell 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2018.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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39
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Maar M, Butenschön M, Daewel U, Eggert A, Fan W, Hjøllo SS, Hufnagl M, Huret M, Ji R, Lacroix G, Peck MA, Radtke H, Sailley S, Sinerchia M, Skogen MD, Travers-Trolet M, Troost TA, van de Wolfshaar K. Responses of summer phytoplankton biomass to changes in top-down forcing: Insights from comparative modelling. Ecol Modell 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2018.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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40
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Haerter JO, Mitarai N, Sneppen K. Theory of invasion extinction dynamics in minimal food webs. Phys Rev E 2018; 97:022404. [PMID: 29548095 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.97.022404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2017] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
When food webs are exposed to species invasion, secondary extinction cascades may be set off. Although much work has gone into characterizing the structure of food webs, systematic predictions on their evolutionary dynamics are still scarce. Here we present a theoretical framework that predicts extinctions in terms of an alternating sequence of two basic processes: resource depletion by or competitive exclusion between consumers. We first propose a conceptual invasion extinction model (IEM) involving random fitness coefficients. We bolster this IEM by an analytical, recursive procedure for calculating idealized extinction cascades after any species addition and simulate the long-time evolution. Our procedure describes minimal food webs where each species interacts with only a single resource through the generalized Lotka-Volterra equations. For such food webs ex- tinction cascades are determined uniquely and the system always relaxes to a stable steady state. The dynamics and scale invariant species life time resemble the behavior of the IEM, and correctly predict an upper limit for trophic levels as observed in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan O Haerter
- Center for Models of Life, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Namiko Mitarai
- Center for Models of Life, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kim Sneppen
- Center for Models of Life, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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41
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Lane PA. Assumptions about trophic cascades: The inevitable collision between reductionist simplicity and ecological complexity. FOOD WEBS 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fooweb.2017.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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A review of the trophic cascade concept using the lens of loop analysis: “The truth is the whole”. FOOD WEBS 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fooweb.2017.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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43
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Piovia-Scott J, Yang LH, Wright AN. Temporal Variation in Trophic Cascades. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY EVOLUTION AND SYSTEMATICS 2017. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-121415-032246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The trophic cascade has emerged as a key paradigm in ecology. Although ecologists have made progress in understanding spatial variation in the strength of trophic cascades, temporal variation remains relatively unexplored. Our review suggests that strong trophic cascades are often transient, appearing when ecological conditions support high consumer abundance and rapidly growing, highly edible prey. Persistent top-down control is expected to decay over time in the absence of external drivers, as strong top-down control favors the emergence of better-defended resources. Temporal shifts in cascade strength—including those driven by contemporary global change—can either stabilize or destabilize ecological communities. We suggest that a more temporally explicit approach can improve our ability to explain the drivers of trophic cascades and predict the impact of changing cascade strength on community dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonah Piovia-Scott
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Vancouver, Washington
| | - Louie H. Yang
- Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California, Davis, California
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Goldenberg SU, Nagelkerken I, Ferreira CM, Ullah H, Connell SD. Boosted food web productivity through ocean acidification collapses under warming. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2017; 23:4177-4184. [PMID: 28447365 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13699] [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: 12/11/2016] [Revised: 03/08/2017] [Accepted: 03/08/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Future climate is forecast to drive bottom-up (resource driven) and top-down (consumer driven) change to food web dynamics and community structure. Yet, our predictive understanding of these changes is hampered by an over-reliance on simplified laboratory systems centred on single trophic levels. Using a large mesocosm experiment, we reveal how future ocean acidification and warming modify trophic linkages across a three-level food web: that is, primary (algae), secondary (herbivorous invertebrates) and tertiary (predatory fish) producers. Both elevated CO2 and elevated temperature boosted primary production. Under elevated CO2 , the enhanced bottom-up forcing propagated through all trophic levels. Elevated temperature, however, negated the benefits of elevated CO2 by stalling secondary production. This imbalance caused secondary producer populations to decline as elevated temperature drove predators to consume their prey more rapidly in the face of higher metabolic demand. Our findings demonstrate how anthropogenic CO2 can function as a resource that boosts productivity throughout food webs, and how warming can reverse this effect by acting as a stressor to trophic interactions. Understanding the shifting balance between the propagation of resource enrichment and its consumption across trophic levels provides a predictive understanding of future dynamics of stability and collapse in food webs and fisheries production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvan U Goldenberg
- Southern Seas Ecology Laboratories, School of Biological Sciences & The Environment Institute, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Ivan Nagelkerken
- Southern Seas Ecology Laboratories, School of Biological Sciences & The Environment Institute, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Camilo M Ferreira
- Southern Seas Ecology Laboratories, School of Biological Sciences & The Environment Institute, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Hadayet Ullah
- Southern Seas Ecology Laboratories, School of Biological Sciences & The Environment Institute, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Sean D Connell
- Southern Seas Ecology Laboratories, School of Biological Sciences & The Environment Institute, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
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45
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Allen BL, Allen LR, Andrén H, Ballard G, Boitani L, Engeman RM, Fleming PJ, Ford AT, Haswell PM, Kowalczyk R, Linnell JD, David Mech L, Parker DM. Can we save large carnivores without losing large carnivore science? FOOD WEBS 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fooweb.2017.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
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46
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Abstract
Climate change and resource exploitation have been shown to modify the importance of bottom-up and top-down forces in ecosystems. However, the resulting pattern of trophic control in complex food webs is an emergent property of the system and thus unintuitive. We develop a statistical nondeterministic model, capable of modeling complex patterns of trophic control for the heavily impacted North Sea ecosystem. The model is driven solely by fishing mortality and climatic variables and based on time-series data covering >40 y for six plankton and eight fish groups along with one bird group (>20 y). Simulations show the outstanding importance of top-down exploitation pressure for the dynamics of fish populations. Whereas fishing effects on predators indirectly altered plankton abundance, bottom-up climatic processes dominate plankton dynamics. Importantly, we show planktivorous fish to have a central role in the North Sea food web initiating complex cascading effects across and between trophic levels. Our linked model integrates bottom-up and top-down effects and is able to simulate complex long-term changes in ecosystem components under a combination of stressor scenarios. Our results suggest that in marine ecosystems, pathways for bottom-up and top-down forces are not necessarily mutually exclusive and together can lead to the emergence of complex patterns of control.
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48
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Jackson M, Wasserman R, Grey J, Ricciardi A, Dick J, Alexander M. Novel and Disrupted Trophic Links Following Invasion in Freshwater Ecosystems. ADV ECOL RES 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.aecr.2016.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
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49
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Val J, Chinarro D, Pino MR, Navarro E. Global change impacts on river ecosystems: A high-resolution watershed study of Ebro river metabolism. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2016; 569-570:774-783. [PMID: 27392332 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.06.098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2016] [Revised: 06/14/2016] [Accepted: 06/14/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Global change is transforming freshwater ecosystems, mainly through changes in basin flow dynamics. This study assessed how the combination of climate change and human management of river flow impacts metabolism of the Ebro River (the largest river basin in Spain, 86,100km(2)), assessed as gross primary production-GPP-and ecosystem respiration-ER. In order to investigate the influence of global change on freshwater ecosystems, an analysis of trends and frequencies from 25 sampling sites of the Ebro river basin was conducted. For this purpose, we examined the effect of anthropogenic flow control on river metabolism with a Granger causality study; simultaneously, took into account the effects of climate change, a period of extraordinary drought (largest in past 140years). We identified periods of sudden flow changes resulting from both human management and global climate effects. From 1998 to 2012, the Ebro River basin was trending toward a more autotrophic condition indicated by P/R ratio. Particularly, the results show that floods that occurred after long periods of low flows had a dramatic impact on the respiration (i.e., mineralization) capacity of the river. This approach allowed for a detailed characterization of the relationships between river metabolism and drought impacts at the watershed level. These findings may allow for a better understanding of the ecological impacts provoked by flow management, thus contributing to maintain the health of freshwater communities and ecosystem services that rely on their integrity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonatan Val
- FACOPS Foundation, Calle Pineta 17, 50410 Cuarte de Huerva, Zaragoza, Spain; Research Institute for Environment and Sustainability of San Jorge University, Villanueva de Gállego, 50830, Zaragoza, Spain; Pyrenean Institute of Ecology (CSIC), Av. Montañana 1005, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain.
| | - David Chinarro
- Research Institute for Environment and Sustainability of San Jorge University, Villanueva de Gállego, 50830, Zaragoza, Spain.
| | - María Rosa Pino
- Research Institute for Environment and Sustainability of San Jorge University, Villanueva de Gállego, 50830, Zaragoza, Spain.
| | - Enrique Navarro
- Pyrenean Institute of Ecology (CSIC), Av. Montañana 1005, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain.
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50
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Abstract
A hydra effect occurs when the mean density of a species increases in response to greater mortality. We show that, in a stable multispecies system, a species exhibits a hydra effect only if maintaining that species at its equilibrium density destabilizes the system. The stability of the original system is due to the responses of the hydra-effect species to changes in the other species' densities. If that dynamical feedback is removed by fixing the density of the hydra-effect species, large changes in the community make-up (including the possibility of species extinction) can occur. This general result has several implications: (1) Hydra effects occur in a much wider variety of species and interaction webs than has previously been described, and may occur for multiple species, even in small webs; (2) conditions for hydra effects caused by predators (or diseases) often differ from those caused by other mortality factors; (3) introducing a specialist or a switching predator of a hydra-effect species often causes large changes in the community, which frequently involve extinction of other species; (4) harvest policies that attempt to maintain a constant density of a hydra-effect species may be difficult to implement, and, if successful, are likely to cause large changes in the densities of other species; and (5) trophic cascades and other indirect effects caused by predators of hydra-effect species can exhibit amplification of effects or unexpected directions of change. Although we concentrate on systems that are originally stable and models with no stage-structure or trait variation, the generality of our result suggests that similar responses to mortality will occur in many systems without these simplifying assumptions. In addition, while hydra effects are defined as responses to altered mortality, they also imply counterintuitive responses to changes in immigration and other parameters affecting population growth.
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