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Vafeiadou AM, Geldhof K, Barhdadi W, Baetens JM, De Baets B, Moens T, Daly AJ. Temperature-driven dynamics: unraveling the impact of climate change on cryptic species interactions within the Litoditis marina complex. PeerJ 2024; 12:e17324. [PMID: 38784398 PMCID: PMC11114120 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.17324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2024] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Anthropogenic climate change and the associated increase in sea temperatures are projected to greatly impact marine ecosystems. Temperature variation can influence the interactions between species, leading to cascading effects on the abundance, diversity and composition of communities. Such changes in community structure can have consequences on ecosystem stability, processes and the services it provides. Therefore, it is important to better understand the role of species interactions in the development of communities and how they are influenced by environmental factors like temperature. The coexistence of closely related cryptic species, with significant biological and ecological differences, makes this even more complex. This study investigated the effect of temperature on species growth and both intra- and interspecific interactions of three species within the free-living nematode Litoditis marina complex. To achieve this, closed microcosm experiments were conducted on the L. marina species Pm I, Pm III and Pm IV in monoculture and combined cultures at two temperature treatments of 15 °C and 20 °C. A population model was constructed to elucidate and quantify the effects of intra- and interspecific interactions on nematode populations. The relative competitive abilities of the investigated species were quantified using the Modern Coexistence Theory (MCT) framework. Temperature had strong and disparate effects on the population growth of the distinct L. marina species. This indicates temperature could play an important role in the distribution of these cryptic species. Both competitive and facilitative interactions were observed in the experiments. Temperature affected both the type and the strength of the species interactions, suggesting a change in temperature could impact the coexistence of these closely related species, alter community dynamics and consequently affect ecosystem processes and services.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna-Maria Vafeiadou
- Department of Biology, Marine Biology Research Group, Universiteit Gent, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Kevin Geldhof
- Department of Biology, Marine Biology Research Group, Universiteit Gent, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Wissam Barhdadi
- Department of Data Analysis and Mathematical Modelling, Universiteit Gent, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Jan M. Baetens
- Department of Data Analysis and Mathematical Modelling, Universiteit Gent, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Bernard De Baets
- Department of Data Analysis and Mathematical Modelling, Universiteit Gent, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Tom Moens
- Department of Biology, Marine Biology Research Group, Universiteit Gent, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Aisling J. Daly
- Department of Data Analysis and Mathematical Modelling, Universiteit Gent, Ghent, Belgium
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Wolfe E, Cerini F, Besson M, O'Brien D, Clements CF. Spatiotemporal thermal variation drives diversity trends in experimental landscapes. J Anim Ecol 2023; 92:430-441. [PMID: 36494717 PMCID: PMC10108128 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Temperature is a fundamental driver of species' vital rates and thus coexistence, extinctions and community composition. While temperature is neither static in space nor in time, little work has incorporated spatiotemporal dynamics into community-level investigations of thermal variation. We conducted a microcosm experiment using ciliate protozoa to test the effects of temperatures fluctuating synchronously or asynchronously on communities in two-patch landscapes connected by short or long corridors. We monitored the abundance of each species for 4 weeks-equivalent to ~28 generations-measuring the effects of four temperature regimes and two corridor lengths on community diversity and composition. While corridor length significantly altered the trajectory of diversity change in the communities, this did not result in different community structures at the end of the experiment. The type of thermal variation significantly affected both the temporal dynamics of diversity change and final community composition, with synchronous fluctuation causing deterministic extinctions that were consistent across replicates and spatial variation causing the greatest diversity declines. Our results suggest that the presence and type of thermal variation can play an important role in structuring ecological communities, especially when it interacts with dispersal between habitat patches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellie Wolfe
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Francesco Cerini
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Marc Besson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.,Sorbonne Université CNRS UMR Biologie des organismes marins, BIOM, Banyuls-sur-Mer, France
| | - Duncan O'Brien
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
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Daly AJ, De Meester N, Baetens JM, Moens T, De Baets B. Untangling the mechanisms of cryptic species coexistence in a nematode community through individual‐based modelling. OIKOS 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.07989] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Aisling J. Daly
- KERMIT, Dept of Data Analysis and Mathematical Modelling, Ghent Univ. Ghent Belgium
| | - Nele De Meester
- Marine Biology Unit, Dept of Biology, Ghent Univ. Ghent Belgium
| | - Jan M. Baetens
- KERMIT, Dept of Data Analysis and Mathematical Modelling, Ghent Univ. Ghent Belgium
| | - Tom Moens
- Marine Biology Unit, Dept of Biology, Ghent Univ. Ghent Belgium
| | - Bernard De Baets
- KERMIT, Dept of Data Analysis and Mathematical Modelling, Ghent Univ. Ghent Belgium
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Schratzberger M, Somerfield PJ. Effects of widespread human disturbances in the marine environment suggest a new agenda for meiofauna research is needed. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2020; 728:138435. [PMID: 32570325 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2020] [Revised: 04/01/2020] [Accepted: 04/02/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The response of an ecological community to a disturbance event, and its capacity to recover, are of major interest to ecologists, especially at a time of increasing frequencies and intensities of environmental change brought about by humans. Meiofauna, a group of small-sized organisms, are an abundant and ubiquitous component of seafloor communities that respond rapidly to environmental change. We summarise the available research on the response of metazoan meiofauna to the most widespread anthropogenic disturbances in the marine environment, including bottom fishing, the introduction of invasive species and anthropogenic climate change. We show that disturbance effects on habitats interact critically with effects on resident meiofauna species. Their responses are consistent with competitive replacement, where disparate disturbance effects on competing species drive shifts in dominance and intra- and interspecific interactions. The widespread replacement of habitat-specific ecological specialists by broadly-adapted ecological generalists and opportunists results in biotic and functional homogenisation of once disparate biotas. Anthropogenic disturbances may facilitate novel interactions among meiofauna species, and between meiofauna and other benthic organisms, but the number and breadth of these interactions is likely to be limited. Knowledge about the dependence of meiofauna species on their environment and on other benthic species has been growing. Future studies will be most meaningful if this knowledge is expanded alongside understanding the potential of locally adapted species to respond to shifts in environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michaela Schratzberger
- Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Pakefield Road, Lowestoft NR33 0HT, United Kingdom; Collaborative Centre for Sustainable Use of the Seas, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom.
| | - Paul J Somerfield
- Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, Plymouth PL1 3DH, United Kingdom
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Vafeiadou AM, Bretaña BLP, Van Colen C, Dos Santos GAP, Moens T. Global warming-induced temperature effects to intertidal tropical and temperate meiobenthic communities. MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2018; 142:163-177. [PMID: 30348474 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2018.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2018] [Revised: 09/05/2018] [Accepted: 10/12/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Global climate change and the related temperature rise strongly impact marine life and have long been in the center of scientific attention. This experimental work investigates thermal-stress effects on intertidal meiofauna from tropical and temperate coasts, focusing on community responses. Natural communities were exposed for a month to ambient, elevated constant temperatures and diurnal fluctuating temperature regimes with elevated peak maxima, to mimic realistic future climate conditions. Abundance, biodiversity, community composition and functional diversity were assessed. Differential responses between a tropical and a temperate community were revealed. The tropical nematode assemblage was more tolerant to the elevated constant than to the fluctuating temperature regime, whereas the temperate assemblage was equally affected by both. Shifts in dominance of temperature-tolerant species in elevated constant and fluctuating temperature treatments (due to temperature variations) were observed and explained by a combination of differential tolerances and shifts in species interactions. Overall, global warming-induced temperature was found to alter species dynamics within meiobenthic communities, which may have further implications for the ecosystem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna-Maria Vafeiadou
- Ghent University, Marine Biology Lab, Krijgslaan 281/S8, 9000 Ghent, Belgium; Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Biology Department, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece.
| | | | - Carl Van Colen
- Ghent University, Marine Biology Lab, Krijgslaan 281/S8, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | | | - Tom Moens
- Ghent University, Marine Biology Lab, Krijgslaan 281/S8, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
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Guden RM, Vafeiadou AM, De Meester N, Derycke S, Moens T. Living apart-together: Microhabitat differentiation of cryptic nematode species in a saltmarsh habitat. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0204750. [PMID: 30261070 PMCID: PMC6160205 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0204750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2018] [Accepted: 09/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Coexistence of highly similar species is at odds with ecological theory of competition; coexistence, then, requires stabilizing mechanisms such as differences in ecological niche. In the bacterivore nematode Litoditis marina species complex, which occurs associated with macro-algae, four cryptic lineages (Pm I-IV) co-occur in the field along the south-western coast and estuaries of The Netherlands. Here we investigate the temporal and/or spatial niche differentiation in their natural environment using a qPCR-based detection and relative quantification method. We collected different algal species (i.e. two Fucus species and Ulva sp.) and separated algal structures (i.e. receptacula, thalli, non-fertile tips and bladders) at different sampling months and times (i.e. twice per sampling month), to examine differences in microhabitat use between coexisting L. marina species. Results demonstrate that the cryptic species composition varied among different algal species and algal structures, which was also subject to temporal shifts. Pm I dominated on Fucus spp., Pm II showed dominance on Ulva sp., while Pm III overall had the lowest frequencies. Microhabitat partitioning was most pronounced between the two cryptic species which had similar microbiomes (Pm I and Pm II), and less so between the two species which had significantly different microbiomes (Pm I and Pm III), suggesting that species which share the same microhabitats may avoid competition through resource partitioning. The interplay of microhabitat differentiation and temporal dynamics among the cryptic species of L. marina implies that there is a complex interaction between biotic components and abiotic factors which contributes to their coexistence in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rodgee Mae Guden
- Ghent University, Marine Biology Lab, Ghent, Belgium
- Mindanao State University- Iligan Institute of Technology, Iligan, Philippines
| | - Anna-Maria Vafeiadou
- Ghent University, Marine Biology Lab, Ghent, Belgium
- Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Biology Department, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | | | - Sofie Derycke
- Ghent University, Marine Biology Lab, Ghent, Belgium
- Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research, Aquatic Environment and Quality, Oostende, Belgium
| | - Tom Moens
- Ghent University, Marine Biology Lab, Ghent, Belgium
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Cryptic diversity and ecosystem functioning: a complex tale of differential effects on decomposition. Oecologia 2016; 182:559-71. [DOI: 10.1007/s00442-016-3677-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2015] [Accepted: 06/11/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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