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Mao Z, Cao Y, Gu X, Cai Y, Chen H, Zeng Q, Jeppesen E. Effects of nutrient reduction and habitat heterogeneity on benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages in a large shallow eutrophic lake. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 867:161538. [PMID: 36640891 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161538] [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: 09/20/2022] [Revised: 01/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/07/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The Taihu Lake ecosystem has been subjected to numerous anthropogenic stressors during the past decades, leading to substantial changes in nutrient dynamics and habitat quality. For instance, the northwestern lake bays receive large amounts of nutrient-rich wastewater and have frequently experienced algal blooms, while the eastern lake region is still dominated by submersed macrophytes. Such changes in environmental characteristics can greatly impact benthic macroinvertebrate communities. We used a 15-year monitoring data series collected by the Taihu Laboratory for Lake Ecosystem Research to examine the spatial and temporal variations of the benthic invertebrate fauna and evaluate its status and trends. We found that three major communities could be distinguished based on taxonomic group composition and abundance, and these corresponded well with three lake habitat types: algal-dominated, macrophyte-dominated, and open-lake zone. An analysis of temporal trends showed major changes in the macroinvertebrates during the study period, largely driven by a lake-wide and significant decline in the abundance of pollution-tolerant taxa. The spatial and temporal variations of macroinvertebrate communities were mainly explained by nutrients (e.g., total nitrogen and ammonium concentrations) and habitat factors (e.g., sediment substrates and macrophyte biomass) as indicated by Random Forests regression, but the major drivers of macroinvertebrate density differed among the three lake zones at the temporal scale. Moreover, our findings suggest that benthic invertebrates were more sensitive to the improvement of the lake's environmental conditions than the pelagic community was. This study provides insights into the responses of macroinvertebrates to ecological dynamics in lakes and highlights the importance of continued monitoring for tracking long-term changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhigang Mao
- Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
| | - Yong Cao
- Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL 61820, USA
| | - Xiaohong Gu
- Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; Huaiyin Normal University, Huaiyin 223300, China.
| | - Yongjiu Cai
- Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China.
| | - Huihui Chen
- Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
| | - Qingfei Zeng
- Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
| | - Erik Jeppesen
- Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus C 8000C, Denmark; Sino-Danish Centre for Education and Research, Beijing 100049, China; Limnology Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences and Centre for Ecosystem Research and Implementation, Middle East Technical University, Ankara 06800, Turkey; Institute of Marine Sciences, Middle East Technical University, Mersin 33731, Turkey
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2
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Abstract
AbstractTrophic transfer efficiency (TTE) is usually calculated as the ratio of production rates between two consecutive trophic levels. Although seemingly simple, TTE estimates from lakes are rare. In our review, we explore the processes and structures that must be understood for a proper lake TTE estimate. We briefly discuss measurements of production rates and trophic positions and mention how ecological efficiencies, nutrients (N, P) and other compounds (fatty acids) affect energy transfer between trophic levels and hence TTE. Furthermore, we elucidate how TTE estimates are linked with size-based approaches according to the Metabolic Theory of Ecology, and how food-web models can be applied to study TTE in lakes. Subsequently, we explore temporal and spatial heterogeneity of production and TTE in lakes, with a particular focus on the links between benthic and pelagic habitats and between the lake and the terrestrial environment. We provide an overview of TTE estimates from lakes found in the published literature. Finally, we present two alternative approaches to estimating TTE. First, TTE can be seen as a mechanistic quantity informing about the energy and matter flow between producer and consumer groups. This approach is informative with respect to food-web structure, but requires enormous amounts of data. The greatest uncertainty comes from the proper consideration of basal production to estimate TTE of omnivorous organisms. An alternative approach is estimating food-chain and food-web efficiencies, by comparing the heterotrophic production of single consumer levels or the total sum of all heterotrophic production including that of heterotrophic bacteria to the total sum of primary production. We close the review by pointing to a few research questions that would benefit from more frequent and standardized estimates of TTE in lakes.
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3
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Rehitha TV, Vineetha G, Madhu NV. Ecological habitat quality assessment of a tropical estuary using macrobenthic functional characteristics and biotic indices. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2022; 29:47629-47646. [PMID: 35184236 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-19295-8] [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: 08/20/2021] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Seasonal variation in the macrobenthic functional characteristics, such as trophic structure and secondary production, was studied, along with their structural characteristics such as density, biomass, and community distribution in Cochin estuary (CE), a tropical monsoonal estuary along the Southwest coast of India during 2018-2019. The biotic indices, AMBI (AZTI's Marine Biotic Index) and M-AMBI (Multivariate-AMBI) were used to assess the ecological quality of the study area by using the sensitivity of macrobenthic fauna to disturbances. A distinct temporal variation was evident in the macrobenthic structural characteristics, wherein high density, biomass, and species richness were observed during the post-monsoon. Polycheate species were dominant during pre-monsoon (Prionospio cirrifera) and monsoon (Mediomastus sp.), while gastropod species, Stenothyra perpumila, was dominant during post-monsoon. The trophic structure analysis revealed the dominance of deposit-feeding polychaetes during the pre-monsoon in association with the fine sediments laden with high organic carbon. In contrast, during post-monsoon, the polychaete trophic groups were more or less evenly distributed in the sandy substratum. The higher density of suspension feeders and herbivorous-grazers observed during the post-monsoon indicated improved habitat quality compared to the pre-monsoon dominated by the detritivores. The macrobenthic secondary production was also high during the post-monsoon, contributed by a diverse assemblage of molluscs, crustaceans, and polychaetes having size > 0.7 mm. The biotic indices also showed an evident increase in the habitat quality of the estuary from pre-monsoon to post-monsoon (AMBI, moderately disturbed to undisturbed; M-AMBI, poor-moderate-good to good-high conditions), similar to the results of benthic structural and functional characteristics. The study highlights the significance of the utility of benthic functional characteristics while assessing the habitat quality of an ecosystem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thekkendavida Velloth Rehitha
- Arctic Ecology and Biogeochemistry, National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Goa- 403 804, Vasco-da-Gama, India.
| | - Gopinath Vineetha
- Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Post Box No. 1603, Ernakulam North P.O, Cochin -18, India
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Wild R, Gücker B, Weitere M, Brauns M. Resource supply and organismal dominance are associated with high secondary production in temperate agricultural streams. Funct Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.14122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Romy Wild
- Dept. River Ecology, Helmholtz‐Centre for Environmental Research UFZ, Brückstraße 3a, D‐39114 Magdeburg Germany
- Chair of Aquatic Systems Biology, Department for Ecology and Ecosystem Management Technical University Munich Freising
| | - Björn Gücker
- Applied Limnology Laboratory, Department of Geosciences Federal University of São João del‐Rei Campus Tancredo Neves São João del‐Rei MG Brazil
| | - Markus Weitere
- Dept. River Ecology, Helmholtz‐Centre for Environmental Research UFZ, Brückstraße 3a, D‐39114 Magdeburg Germany
| | - Mario Brauns
- Dept. River Ecology, Helmholtz‐Centre for Environmental Research UFZ, Brückstraße 3a, D‐39114 Magdeburg Germany
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5
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Salt Marshes Buffer El Niño Effects on Benthic Secondary Production. Ecosystems 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-021-00707-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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6
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Oliphant ZH, Hyslop EJ. Biomass, Productivity, and Biomass Turnover (P/B) Ratios of Benthic Macroinvertebrates in High Elevation Ponds in St. Ann, Jamaica (West Indies). CARIBB J SCI 2020. [DOI: 10.18475/cjos.v50i2.a11] [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)
- Zahra H. Oliphant
- The University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies
| | - Eric J. Hyslop
- The University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies
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7
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Junker JR, Cross WF, Benstead JP, Huryn AD, Hood JM, Nelson D, Gíslason GM, Ólafsson JS. Resource supply governs the apparent temperature dependence of animal production in stream ecosystems. Ecol Lett 2020; 23:1809-1819. [PMID: 33001542 PMCID: PMC7702057 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2020] [Revised: 06/06/2020] [Accepted: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Rising global temperatures are changing how energy and materials move through ecosystems, with potential consequences for the role of animals in these processes. We tested a central prediction of the metabolic scaling framework-the temperature independence of animal community production-using a series of geothermally heated streams and a comprehensive empirical analysis. We show that the apparent temperature sensitivity of animal production was consistent with theory for individuals (Epind = 0.64 vs. 0.65 eV), but strongly amplified relative to theoretical expectations for communities, both among (Epamong = 0.67 vs. 0 eV) and within (Epwithin = 1.52 vs. 0 eV) streams. After accounting for spatial and temporal variation in resources, we show that the apparent positive effect of temperature was driven by resource supply, providing strong empirical support for the temperature independence of invertebrate production and the necessary inclusion of resources in metabolic scaling efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- James R Junker
- Department of Ecology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59717, USA
| | - Wyatt F Cross
- Department of Ecology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59717, USA
| | - Jonathan P Benstead
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA
| | - Alexander D Huryn
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA
| | - James M Hood
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Translational Data Analytics Institute, The Aquatic Ecology Laboratory, Columbus, OH, 43212, USA
| | - Daniel Nelson
- Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA
| | - Gísli M Gíslason
- University of Iceland, Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences, Reykjavík, Iceland
| | - Jón S Ólafsson
- Institute of Marine and Freshwater Fisheries, Reykjavík, Iceland
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8
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Luoto TP, Rantala MV, Henriikka Kivilä E, Nevalainen L. Recent changes in chironomid communities and hypolimnetic oxygen conditions relate to organic carbon in subarctic ecotonal lakes. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2019; 646:238-244. [PMID: 30055486 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.07.306] [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: 05/08/2018] [Revised: 07/18/2018] [Accepted: 07/22/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
A key question in aquatic elemental cycling is related to the influence of bottom water oxygen conditions in regulating the burial and release of carbon under climate warming. In this study, we used head capsules of Chironomidae larvae to assess community and diversity change between the past (estimated as Pre-Industrial Period) and present and to reconstruct changes in hypolimnetic oxygen conditions from 30 subarctic ecotonal lakes (northeastern Lapland) using the top-bottom paleolimnological approach applying surface sediment (topmost 0-2 cm) and reference (4-5 cm) samples. Subsequently, we tested the findings against dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration of the sites. We found that the benthic communities were statistically dissimilar between the past and the present with largest changes occurring in the more transparent oligo-mesohumic lakes. However, murky polyhumic lakes displayed uniformly a decrease in diversity. The chironomid-inferred oxygen values showed a general decrease toward the present with largest shifts in low-DOC lakes, whereas no significant changes were found in the hypolimnetic oxygen conditions of high-DOC lakes, which were often located in wetland areas. These finding suggest that lakes associated with constant organic carbon inputs are more resilient toward climate-induced reductions in hypolimnetic oxygen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomi P Luoto
- Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Ecosystems and Environment Research Programme, University of Helsinki, Niemenkatu 73, 15140 Lahti, Finland.
| | - Marttiina V Rantala
- Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Ecosystems and Environment Research Programme, Environmental Change Research Unit (ECRU), University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 1, 00014, Finland
| | - E Henriikka Kivilä
- University of Jyväskylä, Department of Biological and Environmental Science, P.O. Box 35, 40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Liisa Nevalainen
- Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Ecosystems and Environment Research Programme, University of Helsinki, Niemenkatu 73, 15140 Lahti, Finland
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9
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McDevitt-Galles T, Calhoun DM, Johnson PTJ. Parasite richness and abundance within aquatic macroinvertebrates: testing the roles of host- and habitat-level factors. Ecosphere 2018; 9. [PMID: 30271654 DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The importance of parasites as both members of biological communities and as structuring agents of host communities has been increasingly emphasized. Yet parasites of aquatic macroinvertebrates and the environmental factors regulating their richness and abundance remain poorly studied. Here we quantified parasite richness and abundance within 12 genera of odonate naiads and opportunistically sampled four additional orders of aquatic macroinvertebrates from 35 freshwater ponds in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, USA. We also tested the relative contributions of host- and habitat-level factors in driving patterns of infection abundance for the most commonly encountered parasite (the trematode Haematoloechus sp.) in nymphal damselflies and dragonflies using hierarchical generalized linear mixed models. Over the course of two years, we quantified the presence and intensity of parasites from 1,612 individuals. We identified six parasite taxa: two digenetic trematodes, one larval nematode, one larval acanthocephalan, one gregarine, and a mite, for which the highest infection prevalence (39%) occurred in the damselfly genus, Ishnura sp. Based on the hierarchical analysis of Haematoloechus sp. occurrence, infection prevalence and abundance were associated predominantly with site-level factors, including definitive host (frog) presence, nymphal odonate density, water pH and conductivity. In addition, host suborder interacted with the presence of fishes, such that damselflies had higher infection rates in sites with fish relative to those without, whereas the opposite was true for dragonfly nymphs. These findings offer insights into the potential interaction between host- and site-level factors in shaping parasite populations within macroinvertebrate taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Dana Marie Calhoun
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309 USA
| | - Pieter T J Johnson
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309 USA
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10
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Benke AC. River food webs: an integrative approach to bottom-up flow webs, top-down impact webs, and trophic position. Ecology 2018; 99:1370-1381. [PMID: 29604060 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2017] [Revised: 01/30/2018] [Accepted: 03/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
The majority of food web studies are based on connectivity, top-down impacts, bottom-up flows, or trophic position (TP), and ecologists have argued for decades which is best. Rarely have any two been considered simultaneously. The present study uses a procedure that integrates the last three approaches based on taxon-specific secondary production and gut analyses. Ingestion flows are quantified to create a flow web and the same data are used to quantify TP for all taxa. An individual predator's impacts also are estimated using the ratio of its ingestion (I) of each prey to prey production (P) to create an I/P web. This procedure was applied to 41 invertebrate taxa inhabiting submerged woody habitat in a southeastern U.S. river. A complex flow web starting with five basal food resources had 462 flows >1 mg·m-2 ·yr-1 , providing far more information than a connectivity web. Total flows from basal resources to primary consumers/omnivores were dominated by allochthonous amorphous detritus and ranged from 1 to >50,000 mg·m-2 ·yr-1 . Most predator-prey flows were much lower (<50 mg·m-2 ·yr-1 ), but some were >1,000 mg·m-2 ·yr-1 . The I/P web showed that 83% of individual predator impacts were weak (<10%), whereas total predator impacts were often strong (e.g., 35% of prey sustained an impact >90%). Quantitative estimates of TP ranged from 2 to 3.7, contrasting sharply with seven integer-based trophic levels based on longest feeding chain. Traditional omnivores (TP = 2.4-2.9) played an important role by consuming more prey and exerting higher impacts on primary consumers than strict predators (TP ≥ 3). This study illustrates how simultaneous quantification of flow pathways, predator impacts, and TP together provide an integrated characterization of natural food webs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arthur C Benke
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 35487, USA
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11
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Haegerbaeumer A, Höss S, Heininger P, Traunspurger W. Response of nematode communities to metals and PAHs in freshwater microcosms. ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 2018; 148:244-253. [PMID: 29065374 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2017.10.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2017] [Revised: 10/09/2017] [Accepted: 10/12/2017] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Freshwater microcosms were used to investigate the effects of various metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), applied as single substances and in mixtures, on sediment-inhabiting nematode assemblages. Several community measures, including nematode abundance, biomass, species richness, species composition and the NemaSPEAR[%]-index, were assessed and their changes in response to the chemical treatments were compared with the results of single-species toxicity testing using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. The diagnostic power of endpoints revealing toxic effects was then evaluated to assess the general suitability of nematodes as bioindicators of sediment contamination by a set of relevant chemicals. Overall, community measures based on species-level (detected with principle response curves) responded most sensitively to chemical stress in the microcosms, especially in terms of biomass, with the C. elegans toxicity test was for the most part as sensitive to the chemicals as the nematode species composition. Generally, this study justified the suitability of nematodes in assessments of the risk of chemicals frequently associated with freshwater sediments and underlined the value of C. elegans in the prospective risk assessment of chemicals, as this species was able to indicate the negative effects of comparatively low sediment concentrations of the contaminants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arne Haegerbaeumer
- Bielefeld University, Department of Animal Ecology, Konsequenz 45, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany.
| | - Sebastian Höss
- Bielefeld University, Department of Animal Ecology, Konsequenz 45, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany; Ecossa, Giselastr. 6, 82319 Starnberg, Germany
| | - Peter Heininger
- German Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG), Am Mainzer Tor 1, 56068 Koblenz, Germany
| | - Walter Traunspurger
- Bielefeld University, Department of Animal Ecology, Konsequenz 45, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany
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12
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Rypel AL, David SR. Pattern and scale in latitude–production relationships for freshwater fishes. Ecosphere 2017. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.1660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Andrew L. Rypel
- Center for Limnology University of Wisconsin‐Madison 600 N. Park Street Madison Wisconsin 53706 USA
- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Science Services 2801 Progress Road Madison Wisconsin 53716 USA
| | - Solomon R. David
- Center for Limnology University of Wisconsin‐Madison 600 N. Park Street Madison Wisconsin 53706 USA
- Daniel P. Haerther Center for Conservation and Research John G. Shedd Aquarium 1200 South Lake Shore Drive Chicago Illinois 60605 USA
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13
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Rossiter W, King G, Johnson B. Revisiting the Energetic Efficiency Hypothesis: Body Mass, Metabolism, and Food Chain Length. AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST 2017. [DOI: 10.1674/0003-0031-177.1.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Aguiar ACF, Gücker B, Brauns M, Hille S, Boëchat IG. Benthic invertebrate density, biomass, and instantaneous secondary production along a fifth-order human-impacted tropical river. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2015; 22:9864-9876. [PMID: 25647497 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-015-4170-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2014] [Accepted: 01/22/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to assess land use effects on the density, biomass, and instantaneous secondary production (IP) of benthic invertebrates in a fifth-order tropical river. Invertebrates were sampled at 11 stations along the Rio das Mortes (upper Rio Grande, Southeast Brazil) in the dry and the rainy season 2010/2011. Invertebrates were counted, determined, and measured to estimate their density, biomass, and IP. Water chemical characteristics, sediment heterogeneity, and habitat structural integrity were assessed in parallel. Total invertebrate density, biomass, and IP were higher in the dry season than those in the rainy season, but did not differ significantly among sampling stations along the river. However, taxon-specific density, biomass, and IP differed similarly among sampling stations along the river and between seasons, suggesting that these metrics had the same bioindication potential. Variability in density, biomass, and IP was mainly explained by seasonality and the percentage of sandy sediment in the riverbed, and not directly by urban or agricultural land use. Our results suggest that the consistently high degradation status of the river, observed from its headwaters to mouth, weakened the response of the invertebrate community to specific land use impacts, so that only local habitat characteristics and seasonality exerted effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Carolina Fornero Aguiar
- Applied Limnology Laboratory, Federal University of São João del-Rei, Praça Dom Helvécio 74, 36301-160, São João del-Rei, MG, Brazil
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15
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Cross WF, Hood JM, Benstead JP, Huryn AD, Nelson D. Interactions between temperature and nutrients across levels of ecological organization. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2015; 21:1025-40. [PMID: 25400273 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.12809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 132] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2014] [Accepted: 10/06/2014] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Temperature and nutrient availability play key roles in controlling the pathways and rates at which energy and materials move through ecosystems. These factors have also changed dramatically on Earth over the past century as human activities have intensified. Although significant effort has been devoted to understanding the role of temperature and nutrients in isolation, less is known about how these two factors interact to influence ecological processes. Recent advances in ecological stoichiometry and metabolic ecology provide a useful framework for making progress in this area, but conceptual synthesis and review are needed to help catalyze additional research. Here, we examine known and potential interactions between temperature and nutrients from a variety of physiological, community, and ecosystem perspectives. We first review patterns at the level of the individual, focusing on four traits--growth, respiration, body size, and elemental content--that should theoretically govern how temperature and nutrients interact to influence higher levels of biological organization. We next explore the interactive effects of temperature and nutrients on populations, communities, and food webs by synthesizing information related to community size spectra, biomass distributions, and elemental composition. We use metabolic theory to make predictions about how population-level secondary production should respond to interactions between temperature and resource supply, setting up qualitative predictions about the flows of energy and materials through metazoan food webs. Last, we examine how temperature-nutrient interactions influence processes at the whole-ecosystem level, focusing on apparent vs. intrinsic activation energies of ecosystem processes, how to represent temperature-nutrient interactions in ecosystem models, and patterns with respect to nutrient uptake and organic matter decomposition. We conclude that a better understanding of interactions between temperature and nutrients will be critical for developing realistic predictions about ecological responses to multiple, simultaneous drivers of global change, including climate warming and elevated nutrient supply.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wyatt F Cross
- Department of Ecology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59717, USA
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16
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Chu T, Sheng Q, Wang S, Wu J. Variability of polychaete secondary production in intertidal creek networks along a stream-order gradient. PLoS One 2014; 9:e97287. [PMID: 24817092 PMCID: PMC4016305 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0097287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2013] [Accepted: 04/17/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Dendritic tidal creek networks are important habitats for sustaining biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in salt marsh wetlands. To evaluate the importance of creek heterogeneity in supporting benthic secondary production, we assess the spatial distribution and secondary production of a representative polychaete species (Dentinephtys glabra) in creek networks along a stream-order gradient in a Yangtze River estuarine marsh. Density, biomass, and secondary production of polychaetes were found to be highest in intermediate order creeks. In high order (3rd and 4th) creeks, the density and biomass of D. glabra were higher in creek edge sites than in creek bottom sites, whereas the reverse was true for low order (1st and 2nd) creeks. Secondary production was highest in 2nd order creeks (559.7 mg AFDM m−2 year−1) and was ca. 2 folds higher than in 1st and 4th order creeks. Top fitting AIC models indicated that the secondary production of D. glabra was mainly associated with geomorphological characters including cross-sectional area and bank slope. This suggests that hydrodynamic forces are essential factors influencing secondary production of macrobenthos in salt marshes. This study emphasizes the importance of microhabitat variability when evaluating secondary production and ecosystem functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianjiang Chu
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, and Institute of Biodiversity Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Qiang Sheng
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, and Institute of Biodiversity Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Sikai Wang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, and Institute of Biodiversity Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jihua Wu
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, and Institute of Biodiversity Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- * E-mail:
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Bayona Y, Roucaute A, Roucaute M, Gorzerino C, Cailleaud K, Lagadic L, Bassères A, Caquet T. Secondary production of freshwater zooplankton communities exposed to a fungicide and to a petroleum distillate in outdoor pond mesocosms. ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY 2014; 33:836-846. [PMID: 24375909 DOI: 10.1002/etc.2495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2013] [Revised: 10/08/2013] [Accepted: 12/02/2013] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Ecological risk assessment of chemicals in mesocosms requires measurement of a large number of parameters at the community level. Studies on invertebrate communities usually focus on taxonomic approaches, which only provide insights into taxonomic structure changes induced by chemicals. In the present study, abundance, biomass (B), theoretical production (P), and instantaneous P/B ratio were used as endpoints to assess the effects of the commercial form of the dithiocarbamate fungicide thiram (35 µg/L and 170 µg/L nominal concentrations) and of the hydrocarbon water accommodated fraction (HWAF) of a petroleum distillate (0.01 mg/L, 0.4 mg/L, 2 mg/L, and 20 mg/L loadings) on the zooplankton community in freshwater pond mesocosms. Endpoints were measured during a 4-wk treatment period (1 pulse/wk) followed by a 5-mo posttreatment period to evaluate zooplankton population recovery. The chlorophyll a concentration in water was significantly increased after treatment with HWAF, whereas it was not affected by thiram treatment. Zooplankton abundance-based analysis showed effects on a limited number of taxa, whereas other endpoints (mainly the P/B ratio) revealed that more taxa were impacted, with recovery depending on the chemical and concentration. Exposure to HWAF mainly had a negative impact on cladocerans, which resulted in top-down effects (between cladocerans and phytoplankton). Thiram negatively affected rotifers and copepods, suggesting more direct toxic effects. The results show that the use of secondary production as an endpoint provides a more comprehensive assessment of potential direct and indirect effects of chemicals on a community, and they also support evidence of alteration in functional processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yannick Bayona
- INRA, UMR985 Écologie et Santé des Écosystèmes, Équipe Écotoxicologie et Qualité des Milieux Aquatiques, Agrocampus Ouest, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Rennes, France; TOTAL, Pôle d'Etude et de Recherche de Lacq RN 117, Service Environnement, Lacq, France
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Rossiter W, Sukhdeo MVK. Habitat-based constraints on food web structure and parasite life cycles. Oecologia 2013; 174:1311-21. [DOI: 10.1007/s00442-013-2835-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2013] [Accepted: 11/07/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Preston DL, Orlofske SA, Lambden JP, Johnson PTJ. Biomass and productivity of trematode parasites in pond ecosystems. J Anim Ecol 2013; 82:509-17. [PMID: 23488451 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2012] [Accepted: 10/29/2012] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
1. Ecologists often measure the biomass and productivity of organisms to understand the importance of populations and communities in the flow of energy through ecosystems. Despite the central role of such studies in the advancement of freshwater ecology, there has been little effort to incorporate parasites into studies of freshwater energy flow. This omission is particularly important considering the roles that parasites sometimes play in shaping community structure and ecosystem processes. 2. Using quantitative surveys and dissections of over 1600 aquatic invertebrate and amphibian hosts, we calculated the ecosystem-level biomass and productivity of trematode parasites alongside the biomass of free-living aquatic organisms in three freshwater ponds in California, USA. 3. Snails and amphibian larvae, which are both important intermediate trematode hosts, dominated the dry biomass of free-living organisms across ponds (snails = 3.2 g m(-2); amphibians = 3.1 g m(-2)). An average of 33.5% of mature snails were infected with one of six trematode taxa, amounting to a density of 13 infected snails m(-2) of pond substrate. Between 18% and 33% of the combined host and parasite biomass within each infected snail consisted of larval trematode tissue, which collectively accounted for 87% of the total trematode biomass within the three ponds. Mid-summer trematode dry biomass averaged 0.10 g m(-2), which was equal to or greater than that of the most abundant insect orders (coleoptera = 0.10 g m(-2), odonata = 0.08 g m(-2), hemiptera = 0.07 g m(-2) and ephemeroptera = 0.03 g m(-2)). 4. On average, each trematode taxon produced between 14 and 1660 free-swimming larvae (cercariae) infected snail(-1) 24 h(-1) in mid-summer. Given that infected snails release cercariae for 3-4 months a year, the pond trematode communities produced an average of 153 mg m(-2) yr(-1) of dry cercarial biomass (range = 70-220 mg m(-2) yr(-1)). 5. Our results suggest that a significant amount of energy moves through trematode parasites in freshwater pond ecosystems, and that their contributions to ecosystem energetics may exceed those of many free-living taxa known to play key roles in structuring aquatic communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel L Preston
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Ramaley N122, Campus Box 334, Boulder, Colorado, 80309, USA
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Abstract
This review explores some of the reasons why food webs seem to contain relatively few parasite species when compared to the full diversity of free living species in the system. At present, there are few coherent food web theories to guide scientific studies on parasites, and this review posits that the methods, directions and questions in the field of food web ecology are not always congruent with parasitological inquiry. For example, topological analysis (the primary tool in food web studies) focuses on only one of six important steps in trematode life cycles, each of which requires a stable community dynamic to evolve. In addition, these transmission strategies may also utilize pathways within the food web that are not considered in traditional food web investigations. It is asserted that more effort must be focused on parasite-centric models, and a central theme is that many different approaches will be required. One promising approach is the old energetic perspective, which considers energy as the critical resource for all organisms, and the currency of all food web interactions. From the parasitological point of view, energy can be used to characterize the roles of parasites at all levels in the food web, from individuals to populations to community. The literature on parasite energetics in food webs is very sparse, but the evidence suggests that parasite species richness is low in food webs because parasites are limited by the quantity of energy available to their unique lifestyles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael V K Sukhdeo
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources, Center for Research on Animal Parasites, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA.
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21
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Faupel M, Ristau K, Traunspurger W. The functional response of a freshwater benthic community to cadmium pollution. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2012; 162:104-109. [PMID: 22243854 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2011.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2011] [Revised: 10/17/2011] [Accepted: 11/02/2011] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Theory predicts that in freshwater communities under chemical stress secondary production will decrease while the rate of biomass turnover (P/B) will increase. However, this concept has never been tested on organisms of smaller size (bacteria, protozoans, small metazoans), although they form the basis of the heterotrophic food web. The present work describes the results of a 7-month microcosm study, in which the effects of low and high toxic stress on an entire sediment community were examined, with cadmium (Cd) as the model pollutant (50 and 400mg Cd kg(-1) dry sediment). While metazoans and protozoans generally followed the expected trend, in bacteria both production and P/B decreased under Cd stress. These observations provide new insights into the functioning of freshwater ecosystems and demonstrate the functional consequences of toxicants on biological systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Faupel
- Department of Animal Ecology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.
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Mesquita-Joanes F, Smith AJ, Viehberg FA. The Ecology of Ostracoda Across Levels of Biological Organisation from Individual to Ecosystem. OSTRACODA AS PROXIES FOR QUATERNARY CLIMATE CHANGE 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-444-53636-5.00002-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
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Hall RO, Taylor BW, Flecker AS. Detritivorous fish indirectly reduce insect secondary production in a tropical river. Ecosphere 2011. [DOI: 10.1890/es11-00042.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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Cross WF, Baxter CV, Donner KC, Rosi-Marshall EJ, Kennedy TA, Hall RO, Kelly HAW, Rogers RS. Ecosystem ecology meets adaptive management: food web response to a controlled flood on the Colorado River, Glen Canyon. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2011; 21:2016-2033. [PMID: 21939041 DOI: 10.1890/10-1719.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Large dams have been constructed on rivers to meet human demands for water, electricity, navigation, and recreation. As a consequence, flow and temperature regimes have been altered, strongly affecting river food webs and ecosystem processes. Experimental high-flow dam releases, i.e., controlled floods, have been implemented on the Colorado River, U.S.A., in an effort to reestablish pulsed flood events, redistribute sediments, improve conditions for native fishes, and increase understanding of how dam operations affect physical and biological processes. We quantified secondary production and organic matter flows in the food web below Glen Canyon dam for two years prior and one year after an experimental controlled flood in March 2008. Invertebrate biomass and secondary production declined significantly following the flood (total biomass, 55% decline; total production, 56% decline), with most of the decline driven by reductions in two nonnative invertebrate taxa, Potamopyrgus antipodarum and Gammarus lacustris. Diatoms dominated the trophic basis of invertebrate production before and after the controlled flood, and the largest organic matter flows were from diatoms to the three most productive invertebrate taxa (P. antipodarum, G. lacustris, and Tubificida). In contrast to invertebrates, production of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) increased substantially (194%) following the flood, despite the large decline in total secondary production of the invertebrate assemblage. This counterintuitive result is reconciled by a post-flood increase in production and drift concentrations of select invertebrate prey (i.e., Chironomidae and Simuliidae) that supported a large proportion of trout production but had relatively low secondary production. In addition, interaction strengths, measured as species impact values, were strongest between rainbow trout and these two taxa before and after the flood, demonstrating that the dominant consumer-resource interactions were not necessarily congruent with the dominant organic matter flows. Our study illustrates the value of detailed food web analysis for elucidating pathways by which dam management may alter production and strengths of species interactions in river food webs. We suggest that controlled floods may increase production of nonnative rainbow trout, and this information can be used to help guide future dam management decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wyatt F Cross
- Department of Ecology, 310 Lewis Hall, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana 59717, USA.
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Finlay JC. Stream size and human influences on ecosystem production in river networks. Ecosphere 2011. [DOI: 10.1890/es11-00071.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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Walther DA, Whiles MR. Secondary production in a southern Illinois headwater stream: relationships between organic matter standing stocks and macroinvertebrate productivity. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011. [DOI: 10.1899/10-006.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Denise A. Walther
- Department of Zoology and Center for Ecology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois 62901-6501 USA
| | - Matt R. Whiles
- Department of Zoology and Center for Ecology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois 62901-6501 USA
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Steinman AD, Silver P, Fisher S, Meyer JL. The J-NABS 25th anniversary issue: reflecting on the past, synthesizing the present, and projecting into the future. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010. [DOI: 10.1899/09-161.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alan D. Steinman
- Annis Water Resources Institute, Grand Valley State University, 740 W. Shoreline Dr., Muskegon, Michigan 49441 USA
| | - Pamela Silver
- School of Science, Penn State Erie, Erie, Pennsylvania 16563 USA
| | - Stuart Fisher
- School of Life Science, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287-4501 USA
| | - Judy L. Meyer
- Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602 USA
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Dolédec S, Statzner B. Responses of freshwater biota to human disturbances: contribution of J-NABS to developments in ecological integrity assessments. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010. [DOI: 10.1899/08-090.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sylvain Dolédec
- UMR CNRS 5023 Ecologie Hydrosystèmes Fluviaux, Université Claude Bernard Lyon I, 43 bd du 11 novembre 1918, 69622 Villeurbanne Cedex, France
| | - Bernhard Statzner
- CNRS, Biodiversité des Ecosystèmes Lotiques, 304 Chemin Creuse Roussillon, F-01600 Parcieux, France
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