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de Bruin T, De Laender F, Jadoul J, Schtickzelle N. Intraspecific demographic and trait responses to environmental change drivers are linked in two species of ciliate. BMC Ecol Evol 2024; 24:47. [PMID: 38632521 PMCID: PMC11022343 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-024-02241-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Over the past decade, theory and observations have suggested intraspecific variation, trait-based differences within species, as a buffer against biodiversity loss from multiple environmental changes. This buffering effect can only occur when different populations of the same species respond differently to environmental change. More specifically, variation of demographic responses fosters buffering of demography, while variation of trait responses fosters buffering of functioning. Understanding how both responses are related is important for predicting biodiversity loss and its consequences. In this study, we aimed to empirically assess whether population-level trait responses to multiple environmental change drivers are related to the demographic response to these drivers. To this end, we measured demographic and trait responses in microcosm experiments with two species of ciliated protists. For three clonal strains of each species, we measured responses to two environmental change drivers (climate change and pollution) and their combination. We also examined if relationships between demographic and trait responses existed across treatments and strains. RESULTS We found different demographic responses across strains of the same species but hardly any interactive effects between the two environmental change drivers. Also, trait responses (summarized in a survival strategy index) varied among strains within a species, again with no driver interactions. Demographic and trait responses were related across all strains of both species tested in this study: Increasing intrinsic growth and self-limitation were associated with a shift in survival strategy from sit-and-wait towards flee. CONCLUSIONS Our results support the existence of a link between a population's demographic and trait responses to environmental change drivers in two species of ciliate. Future work could dive deeper into the specifics of phenotypical trait values, and changes therein, related to specific life strategies in different species of ciliate and other zooplankton grazers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tessa de Bruin
- Earth and Life Institute (ELI), Biodiversity Research Center (BDIV), Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain‑La‑Neuve, Belgium.
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology (URBE), Institute of Life-Earth-Environment (ILEE), Namur Institute for Complex Systems (NAXYS), Université de Namur, Namur, Belgium
| | - Julie Jadoul
- Earth and Life Institute (ELI), Biodiversity Research Center (BDIV), Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain‑La‑Neuve, Belgium
| | - Nicolas Schtickzelle
- Earth and Life Institute (ELI), Biodiversity Research Center (BDIV), Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain‑La‑Neuve, Belgium
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2
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De Laender F, Carpentier C, Carletti T, Song C, Rumschlag SL, Mahon MB, Simonin M, Meszéna G, Barabás G. Mean species responses predict effects of environmental change on coexistence. Ecol Lett 2023; 26:1535-1547. [PMID: 37337910 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2023] [Revised: 05/21/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/21/2023]
Abstract
Environmental change research is plagued by the curse of dimensionality: the number of communities at risk and the number of environmental drivers are both large. This raises the pressing question if a general understanding of ecological effects is achievable. Here, we show evidence that this is indeed possible. Using theoretical and simulation-based evidence for bi- and tritrophic communities, we show that environmental change effects on coexistence are proportional to mean species responses and depend on how trophic levels on average interact prior to environmental change. We then benchmark our findings using relevant cases of environmental change, showing that means of temperature optima and of species sensitivities to pollution predict concomitant effects on coexistence. Finally, we demonstrate how to apply our theory to the analysis of field data, finding support for effects of land use change on coexistence in natural invertebrate communities.
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Grants
- 2.5020.11, GEQ U.G006.15, 1610468, RW/GEQ2016 et U FNRS-FRFC
- NKFI-123796 Hungarian National Research, Development and Innovation Offi
- 2.5020.11, GEQ U.G006.15, 1610468, RW/GEQ2016 et U Université de Namur
- NARC fellowsh Université de Namur
- 2.5020.11, GEQ U.G006.15, 1610468, RW/GEQ2016 et U Waalse Gewest
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, naXys, ILEE, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium
| | - Camille Carpentier
- Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, naXys, ILEE, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium
| | - Timoteo Carletti
- Department of Mathematics and naXys, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium
| | - Chuliang Song
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
| | - Samantha L Rumschlag
- Department of Biological Sciences, Environmental Change Initiative, and Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA
| | - Michael B Mahon
- Department of Biological Sciences, Environmental Change Initiative, and Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA
| | - Marie Simonin
- University of Angers, Institut Agro, INRAE, IRHS, SFR QUASAV, Angers, France
| | - Géza Meszéna
- Department of Biological Physics, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- Institute of Evolution, Centre for Ecological Research, Budapest, Hungary
| | - György Barabás
- Institute of Evolution, Centre for Ecological Research, Budapest, Hungary
- Division of Ecological and Environmental Modeling, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
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3
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Zhao Q, Van den Brink PJ, Xu C, Wang S, Clark AT, Karakoç C, Sugihara G, Widdicombe CE, Atkinson A, Matsuzaki SIS, Shinohara R, He S, Wang YXG, De Laender F. Relationships of temperature and biodiversity with stability of natural aquatic food webs. Nat Commun 2023; 14:3507. [PMID: 37316479 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38977-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2022] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Temperature and biodiversity changes occur in concert, but their joint effects on ecological stability of natural food webs are unknown. Here, we assess these relationships in 19 planktonic food webs. We estimate stability as structural stability (using the volume contraction rate) and temporal stability (using the temporal variation of species abundances). Warmer temperatures were associated with lower structural and temporal stability, while biodiversity had no consistent effects on either stability property. While species richness was associated with lower structural stability and higher temporal stability, Simpson diversity was associated with higher temporal stability. The responses of structural stability were linked to disproportionate contributions from two trophic groups (predators and consumers), while the responses of temporal stability were linked both to synchrony of all species within the food web and distinctive contributions from three trophic groups (predators, consumers, and producers). Our results suggest that, in natural ecosystems, warmer temperatures can erode ecosystem stability, while biodiversity changes may not have consistent effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qinghua Zhao
- Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
- Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology (URBE), University of Namur, Namur, Belgium.
- Institute of Complex Systems (naXys), University of Namur, Namur, Belgium.
- Institute of Life, Earth and the Environment (ILEE), University of Namur, Namur, Belgium.
| | - Paul J Van den Brink
- Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Wageningen Environmental Research, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Chi Xu
- School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Shaopeng Wang
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Science, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, 100871, Beijing, China
| | - Adam T Clark
- Institute of Biology, University of Graz, Holteigasse 6, 8010, Graz, Austria
| | - Canan Karakoç
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, 1001 East Third Street, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA
| | - George Sugihara
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California-San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | | | - Angus Atkinson
- Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, The Hoe, Plymouth, PL13DH, UK
| | | | | | - Shuiqing He
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Yingying X G Wang
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, FI-40014, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology (URBE), University of Namur, Namur, Belgium
- Institute of Complex Systems (naXys), University of Namur, Namur, Belgium
- Institute of Life, Earth and the Environment (ILEE), University of Namur, Namur, Belgium
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4
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Rumschlag SL, Mahon MB, Jones DK, Battaglin W, Behrens J, Bernhardt ES, Bradley P, Brown E, De Laender F, Hill R, Kunz S, Lee S, Rosi E, Schäfer R, Schmidt TS, Simonin M, Smalling K, Voss K, Rohr JR. Density declines, richness increases, and composition shifts in stream macroinvertebrates. Sci Adv 2023; 9:eadf4896. [PMID: 37134169 PMCID: PMC10156106 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adf4896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Documenting trends of stream macroinvertebrate biodiversity is challenging because biomonitoring often has limited spatial, temporal, and taxonomic scopes. We analyzed biodiversity and composition of assemblages of >500 genera, spanning 27 years, and 6131 stream sites across forested, grassland, urban, and agricultural land uses throughout the United States. In this dataset, macroinvertebrate density declined by 11% and richness increased by 12.2%, and insect density and richness declined by 23.3 and 6.8%, respectively, over 27 years. In addition, differences in richness and composition between urban and agricultural versus forested and grassland streams have increased over time. Urban and agricultural streams lost the few disturbance-sensitive taxa they once had and gained disturbance-tolerant taxa. These results suggest that current efforts to protect and restore streams are not sufficient to mitigate anthropogenic effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha L Rumschlag
- Department of Biological Sciences, Environmental Change Initiative, and Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
- Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Duluth, MN, USA
| | - Michael B Mahon
- Department of Biological Sciences, Environmental Change Initiative, and Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
| | - Devin K Jones
- Department of Biological Sciences, Environmental Change Initiative, and Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
- Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - William Battaglin
- Colorado Water Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO, USA
| | - Jonny Behrens
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | | | - Paul Bradley
- South Atlantic Water Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Columbia, SC, USA
| | - Ethan Brown
- Department of Biological Sciences, Environmental Change Initiative, and Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Namur Institute of Complex Systems, and Institute of Life, Earth, and the Environment, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium
| | - Ryan Hill
- Pacific Ecological Systems Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | - Stefan Kunz
- Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Koblenz-Landau, Landau, Germany
| | - Sylvia Lee
- Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Emma Rosi
- Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY, USA
| | - Ralf Schäfer
- Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Koblenz-Landau, Landau, Germany
| | - Travis S Schmidt
- Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Helena, MT, USA
| | - Marie Simonin
- Univ Angers, Institut Agro, INRAE, IRHS, SFR QUASAV, F-49000 Angers, France
| | - Kelly Smalling
- New Jersey Water Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Lawrenceville, NJ, USA
| | - Kristofor Voss
- Department of Biology, Regis University, Denver, CO, USA
| | - Jason R Rohr
- Department of Biological Sciences, Environmental Change Initiative, and Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
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5
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van Moorsel SJ, Thébault E, Radchuk V, Narwani A, Montoya JM, Dakos V, Holmes M, De Laender F, Pennekamp F. Predicting effects of multiple interacting global change drivers across trophic levels. Glob Chang Biol 2023; 29:1223-1238. [PMID: 36461630 PMCID: PMC7614140 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16548] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Revised: 11/18/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Global change encompasses many co-occurring anthropogenic drivers, which can act synergistically or antagonistically on ecological systems. Predicting how different global change drivers simultaneously contribute to observed biodiversity change is a key challenge for ecology and conservation. However, we lack the mechanistic understanding of how multiple global change drivers influence the vital rates of multiple interacting species. We propose that reaction norms, the relationships between a driver and vital rates like growth, mortality, and consumption, provide insights to the underlying mechanisms of community responses to multiple drivers. Understanding how multiple drivers interact to affect demographic rates using a reaction-norm perspective can improve our ability to make predictions of interactions at higher levels of organization-that is, community and food web. Building on the framework of consumer-resource interactions and widely studied thermal performance curves, we illustrate how joint driver impacts can be scaled up from the population to the community level. A simple proof-of-concept model demonstrates how reaction norms of vital rates predict the prevalence of driver interactions at the community level. A literature search suggests that our proposed approach is not yet used in multiple driver research. We outline how realistic response surfaces (i.e., multidimensional reaction norms) can be inferred by parametric and nonparametric approaches. Response surfaces have the potential to strengthen our understanding of how multiple drivers affect communities as well as improve our ability to predict when interactive effects emerge, two of the major challenges of ecology today.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofia J. van Moorsel
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental StudiesUniversity of ZurichZurichSwitzerland
- Department of GeographyUniversity of ZurichZurichSwitzerland
| | - Elisa Thébault
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, IRD, INRAE, Université Paris Est Créteil, Université Paris Cité, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris (iEES‐Paris)ParisFrance
| | - Viktoriia Radchuk
- Department of Ecological DynamicsLeibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife ResearchBerlinGermany
| | - Anita Narwani
- Department of Aquatic EcologyEawagDübendorfSwitzerland
| | - José M. Montoya
- Theoretical and Experimental Ecology StationCNRSMoulisFrance
| | - Vasilis Dakos
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier (ISEM)Université de Montpellier, IRD, EPHEMontpellierFrance
| | - Mark Holmes
- Namur Institute for Complex Systems (naXys), Institute of Life, Earth, and Environment (ILEE), Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, University of NamurNamurBelgium
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Namur Institute for Complex Systems (naXys), Institute of Life, Earth, and Environment (ILEE), Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, University of NamurNamurBelgium
| | - Frank Pennekamp
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental StudiesUniversity of ZurichZurichSwitzerland
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6
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Olusoji OD, Barabás G, Spaak JW, Fontana S, Neyens T, De Laender F, Aerts M. Measuring individual‐level trait diversity: a critical assessment of methods. OIKOS 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.09178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Oluwafemi D. Olusoji
- Center for Statistics, Data Science Inst., Hasselt Univ. Hasselt Belgium
- Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology (URBE), Inst. of Life‐Earth‐Environment (ILEE), Namur Inst. for Complex Systems (NAXYS), Univ. de Namur Namur Belgium
| | - György Barabás
- Division of Ecological and Environmental Modeling, Linköping Univ. Linköping Sweden
- ELTE‐MTA Theoretical Biology and Evolutionary Ecology Research Group Budapest Hungary
- Inst. of Evolution, Centre for Ecological Research Budapest Hungary
| | - Jurg W. Spaak
- Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology (URBE), Inst. of Life‐Earth‐Environment (ILEE), Namur Inst. for Complex Systems (NAXYS), Univ. de Namur Namur Belgium
| | - Simone Fontana
- Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology, Univ. of Freiburg Freiburg Germany
- Biodiversity and Conservation Biology, Swiss Federal Research Inst. WSL Birmensdorf Switzerland
- Abteilung Natur und Landschaft, Amt für Natur, Jagd und Fischerei, Kanton St. Gallen St. Gallen Switzerland
| | - Thomas Neyens
- Center for Statistics, Data Science Inst., Hasselt Univ. Hasselt Belgium
- L‐BioStat, Dept of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven Leuven Belgium
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology (URBE), Inst. of Life‐Earth‐Environment (ILEE), Namur Inst. for Complex Systems (NAXYS), Univ. de Namur Namur Belgium
| | - Marc Aerts
- Center for Statistics, Data Science Inst., Hasselt Univ. Hasselt Belgium
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7
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Spaak JW, Ke P, Letten AD, De Laender F. Different measures of niche and fitness differences tell different tales. OIKOS 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.09573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jurg W. Spaak
- Dept of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell Univ. Ithaca NY USA
| | - Po‐Ju Ke
- Inst. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, National Taiwan Univ. Taipei Taiwan
- Dept of Ecology&Evolutionary Biology, Princeton Univ. Princeton NJ USA
| | - Andrew D. Letten
- School of Biological Sciences, Univ. of Queensland Brisbane QLD Australia
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Univ. of Namur Namur Belgium
- Inst. of Life‐Earth‐Environment, Namur Center for Complex Systems Namur Belgium
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8
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Cote J, Dahirel M, Schtickzelle N, Altermatt F, Ansart A, Blanchet S, Chaine AS, De Laender F, De Raedt J, Haegeman B, Jacob S, Kaltz O, Laurent E, Little CJ, Madec L, Manzi F, Masier S, Pellerin F, Pennekamp F, Therry L, Vong A, Winandy L, Bonte D, Fronhofer EA, Legrand D. Dispersal syndromes in challenging environments: A cross-species experiment. Ecol Lett 2022; 25:2675-2687. [PMID: 36223413 PMCID: PMC9828387 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2022] [Revised: 09/13/2022] [Accepted: 09/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Dispersal is a central biological process tightly integrated into life-histories, morphology, physiology and behaviour. Such associations, or syndromes, are anticipated to impact the eco-evolutionary dynamics of spatially structured populations, and cascade into ecosystem processes. As for dispersal on its own, these syndromes are likely neither fixed nor random, but conditional on the experienced environment. We experimentally studied how dispersal propensity varies with individuals' phenotype and local environmental harshness using 15 species ranging from protists to vertebrates. We reveal a general phenotypic dispersal syndrome across studied species, with dispersers being larger, more active and having a marked locomotion-oriented morphology and a strengthening of the link between dispersal and some phenotypic traits with environmental harshness. Our proof-of-concept metacommunity model further reveals cascading effects of context-dependent syndromes on the local and regional organisation of functional diversity. Our study opens new avenues to advance our understanding of the functioning of spatially structured populations, communities and ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julien Cote
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)Université Paul Sabatier; UMR5174 EDB (Laboratoire Evolution & Diversité Biologique)Toulouse CedexFrance
| | - Maxime Dahirel
- Univ Rennes, CNRS, ECOBIO (Ecosystèmes, Biodiversité, Évolution)—UMR6553RennesFrance,Department of BiologyGhent UniversityGhentBelgium
| | - Nicolas Schtickzelle
- Univ. Catholique de LouvainEarth and Life Institute, Biodiversity Research CentreLouvain‐la‐NeuveBelgium
| | - Florian Altermatt
- Eawag: Department of Aquatic EcologySwiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and TechnologyDübendorfSwitzerland,Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental StudiesUniversity of ZurichZürichSwitzerland
| | - Armelle Ansart
- Univ Rennes, CNRS, ECOBIO (Ecosystèmes, Biodiversité, Évolution)—UMR6553RennesFrance
| | - Simon Blanchet
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale (UAR2029)MoulisFrance
| | - Alexis S. Chaine
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale (UAR2029)MoulisFrance,Institute for Advanced Studies in Toulouse, Toulouse School of EconomicsToulouseFrance
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Namur Institute of Complex Systems, and the Institute of Life, Earth, and EnvironmentUniversity of NamurNamurBelgium
| | - Jonathan De Raedt
- Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Namur Institute of Complex Systems, and the Institute of Life, Earth, and EnvironmentUniversity of NamurNamurBelgium,Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Applied EcologyGhent UniversityGhentBelgium
| | - Bart Haegeman
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale (UAR2029)MoulisFrance
| | - Staffan Jacob
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale (UAR2029)MoulisFrance
| | - Oliver Kaltz
- ISEM, Univ MontpellierCNRS, EPHE, IRDMontpellierFrance
| | - Estelle Laurent
- Univ. Catholique de LouvainEarth and Life Institute, Biodiversity Research CentreLouvain‐la‐NeuveBelgium
| | - Chelsea J. Little
- Eawag: Department of Aquatic EcologySwiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and TechnologyDübendorfSwitzerland,Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental StudiesUniversity of ZurichZürichSwitzerland,School of Environmental ScienceSimon Fraser UniversityBurnabyBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | - Luc Madec
- Univ Rennes, CNRS, ECOBIO (Ecosystèmes, Biodiversité, Évolution)—UMR6553RennesFrance
| | - Florent Manzi
- ISEM, Univ MontpellierCNRS, EPHE, IRDMontpellierFrance,Department of Ecosystem ResearchLeibniz‐Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland FisheriesBerlinGermany
| | | | - Felix Pellerin
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)Université Paul Sabatier; UMR5174 EDB (Laboratoire Evolution & Diversité Biologique)Toulouse CedexFrance
| | - Frank Pennekamp
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental StudiesUniversity of ZurichZürichSwitzerland
| | - Lieven Therry
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)Université Paul Sabatier; UMR5174 EDB (Laboratoire Evolution & Diversité Biologique)Toulouse CedexFrance,Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale (UAR2029)MoulisFrance
| | - Alexandre Vong
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale (UAR2029)MoulisFrance
| | - Laurane Winandy
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)Université Paul Sabatier; UMR5174 EDB (Laboratoire Evolution & Diversité Biologique)Toulouse CedexFrance,Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale (UAR2029)MoulisFrance
| | - Dries Bonte
- Department of BiologyGhent UniversityGhentBelgium
| | - Emanuel A. Fronhofer
- Eawag: Department of Aquatic EcologySwiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and TechnologyDübendorfSwitzerland,Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental StudiesUniversity of ZurichZürichSwitzerland,ISEM, Univ MontpellierCNRS, EPHE, IRDMontpellierFrance
| | - Delphine Legrand
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale (UAR2029)MoulisFrance
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9
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Abstract
There are many scales at which to quantify stability in spatial and ecological networks. Local-scale analyses focus on specific nodes of the spatial network, while regional-scale analyses consider the whole network. Similarly, species- and community-level analyses either account for single species or for the whole community. Furthermore, stability itself can be defined in multiple ways, including resistance (the inverse of the relative displacement caused by a perturbation), initial resilience (the rate of return after a perturbation), and invariability (the inverse of the relative amplitude of the population fluctuations). Here, we analyze the scale-dependence of these stability properties. More specifically, we ask how spatial scale (local vs. regional) and ecological scale (species vs. community) influence these stability properties. We find that regional initial resilience is the weighted arithmetic mean of the local initial resiliences. The regional resistance is the harmonic mean of local resistances, which makes regional resistance particularly vulnerable to nodes with low stability, unlike regional initial resilience. Analogous results hold for the relationship between community- and species-level initial resilience and resistance. Both resistance and initial resilience are “scale-free” properties: regional and community values are simply the biomass-weighted means of the local and species values, respectively. Thus, one can easily estimate both stability metrics of whole networks from partial sampling. In contrast, invariability generally is greater at the regional and community-level than at the local and species-level, respectively. Hence, estimating the invariability of spatial or ecological networks from measurements at the local or species level is more complicated, requiring an unbiased estimate of the network (i.e., region or community) size. In conclusion, we find that scaling of stability depends on the metric considered, and we present a reliable framework to estimate these metrics.
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10
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Turschwell MP, Connolly SR, Schäfer RB, De Laender F, Campbell MD, Mantyka-Pringle C, Jackson MC, Kattwinkel M, Sievers M, Ashauer R, Côté IM, Connolly RM, van den Brink PJ, Brown CJ. Interactive effects of multiple stressors vary with consumer interactions, stressor dynamics and magnitude. Ecol Lett 2022; 25:1483-1496. [PMID: 35478314 PMCID: PMC9320941 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Revised: 03/30/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Predicting the impacts of multiple stressors is important for informing ecosystem management but is impeded by a lack of a general framework for predicting whether stressors interact synergistically, additively or antagonistically. Here, we use process-based models to study how interactions generalise across three levels of biological organisation (physiological, population and consumer-resource) for a two-stressor experiment on a seagrass model system. We found that the same underlying processes could result in synergistic, additive or antagonistic interactions, with interaction type depending on initial conditions, experiment duration, stressor dynamics and consumer presence. Our results help explain why meta-analyses of multiple stressor experimental results have struggled to identify predictors of consistently non-additive interactions in the natural environment. Experiments run over extended temporal scales, with treatments across gradients of stressor magnitude, are needed to identify the processes that underpin how stressors interact and provide useful predictions to management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mischa P Turschwell
- Coastal and Marine Research Centre, School of Environment and Science, Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
| | - Sean R Connolly
- Naos Marine Laboratories, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa Ancón, Republic of Panama.,College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
| | - Ralf B Schäfer
- Quantitative Landscape Ecology, iES-Institute for Environmental Sciences, University Koblenz-Landau, Landau in der Pfalz, Germany
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Namur Institute of Complex Systems and Institute of Life, Earth, and the Environment, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium
| | - Max D Campbell
- Coastal and Marine Research Centre, School of Environment and Science, Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
| | - Chrystal Mantyka-Pringle
- Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada.,School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | | | - Mira Kattwinkel
- Quantitative Landscape Ecology, iES-Institute for Environmental Sciences, University Koblenz-Landau, Landau in der Pfalz, Germany
| | - Michael Sievers
- Coastal and Marine Research Centre, School of Environment and Science, Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
| | - Roman Ashauer
- Environment Department, University of York, York, UK.,Syngenta Crop Protection AG, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Isabelle M Côté
- Earth to Ocean Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Rod M Connolly
- Coastal and Marine Research Centre, School of Environment and Science, Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
| | - Paul J van den Brink
- Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands.,Wageningen Environmental Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Christopher J Brown
- Coastal and Marine Research Centre, School of Environment and Science, Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
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11
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Hong P, Schmid B, De Laender F, Eisenhauer N, Zhang X, Chen H, Craven D, De Boeck HJ, Hautier Y, Petchey OL, Reich PB, Steudel B, Striebel M, Thakur MP, Wang S. Biodiversity promotes ecosystem functioning despite environmental change. Ecol Lett 2021; 25:555-569. [PMID: 34854529 PMCID: PMC9300022 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2021] [Revised: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 11/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Three decades of research have demonstrated that biodiversity can promote the functioning of ecosystems. Yet, it is unclear whether the positive effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning will persist under various types of global environmental change drivers. We conducted a meta‐analysis of 46 factorial experiments manipulating both species richness and the environment to test how global change drivers (i.e. warming, drought, nutrient addition or CO2 enrichment) modulated the effect of biodiversity on multiple ecosystem functions across three taxonomic groups (microbes, phytoplankton and plants). We found that biodiversity increased ecosystem functioning in both ambient and manipulated environments, but often not to the same degree. In particular, biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning were larger in stressful environments induced by global change drivers, indicating that high‐diversity communities were more resistant to environmental change. Using a subset of studies, we also found that the positive effects of biodiversity were mainly driven by interspecific complementarity and that these effects increased over time in both ambient and manipulated environments. Our findings support biodiversity conservation as a key strategy for sustainable ecosystem management in the face of global environmental change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pubin Hong
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Bernhard Schmid
- Remote Sensing Laboratories, Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Namur Institute of Complex Systems, and Institute of Life, Earth, and the Environment, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium
| | - Nico Eisenhauer
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.,Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Xingwen Zhang
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, Yunnan University, China
| | - Haozhen Chen
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Dylan Craven
- Centro de Modelación y Monitoreo de Ecosistemas, Universidad Mayor, Santiago de Chile, Chile
| | - Hans J De Boeck
- Plants and Ecosystems (PLECO), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Yann Hautier
- Ecology and Biodiversity Group, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, CH, The Netherlands
| | - Owen L Petchey
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Peter B Reich
- Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, St Paul, Minnesota, USA.,Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia.,Institute for Global Change Biology, and School for the Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Bastian Steudel
- Department of Health and Environmental Sciences, Xi'an Jiaotong- Liverpool University, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Maren Striebel
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, Carl Von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - Madhav P Thakur
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Shaopeng Wang
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China
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12
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Olusoji OD, Spaak JW, Holmes M, Neyens T, Aerts M, De Laender F. cyanoFilter: An R package to identify phytoplankton populations from flow cytometry data using cell pigmentation and granularity. Ecol Modell 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2021.109743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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13
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Holmes M, Spaak JW, De Laender F. Stressor richness intensifies productivity loss but mitigates biodiversity loss. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:14977-14987. [PMID: 34765154 PMCID: PMC8571636 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2021] [Revised: 09/10/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Ecosystems are subject to a multitude of anthropogenic environmental changes. Experimental research in the field of multiple stressors has typically involved varying the number of stressors, here termed stressor richness, but without controlling for total stressor intensity. Mistaking stressor intensity effects for stressor richness effects can misinform management decisions when there is a trade-off between mitigating these two factors. We incorporate multiple stressors into three community models and show that, at a fixed total stressor intensity, increasing stressor richness aggravates joint stressor effects on ecosystem functioning, but reduces effects on species persistence and composition. In addition, stressor richness weakens the positive selection and negative complementarity effects on ecosystem function. We identify the among-species variation of stressor effects on traits as a key determinant of the resulting community-level stressor effects. Taken together, our results unravel the mechanisms linking multiple environmental changes to biodiversity and ecosystem function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Holmes
- Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Namur Institute of Complex Systems, and the Institute of Life, Earth, and EnvironmentUniversity of NamurNamurBelgium
| | - Jurg Werner Spaak
- Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Namur Institute of Complex Systems, and the Institute of Life, Earth, and EnvironmentUniversity of NamurNamurBelgium
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Namur Institute of Complex Systems, and the Institute of Life, Earth, and EnvironmentUniversity of NamurNamurBelgium
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14
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Spaak JW, Carpentier C, De Laender F. Species richness increases fitness differences, but does not affect niche differences. Ecol Lett 2021; 24:2611-2623. [PMID: 34532957 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2021] [Revised: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 08/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
A key question in ecology is what limits species richness. Modern coexistence theory presents the persistence of species as a balance between niche differences and fitness differences that favour and hamper coexistence, respectively. With most applications focusing on species pairs, however, we know little about if and how this balance changes with species richness. Here, we apply recently developed definitions of niche and fitness differences, based on invasion analysis, to multispecies communities. We present the first mathematical proof that, for invariant average interaction strengths, the average fitness difference among species increases with richness, while the average niche difference stays constant. Extensive simulations with more complex models and analyses of empirical data confirmed these mathematical results. Combined, our work suggests that, as species accumulate in ecosystems, ever-increasing fitness differences will at some point exceed constant niche differences, limiting species richness. Our results contribute to a better understanding of coexistence multispecies communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jurg W Spaak
- University of Namur, Institute of Life-Earth-Environment, Namur Center for Complex Systems, Namur, Belgium.,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Camille Carpentier
- University of Namur, Institute of Life-Earth-Environment, Namur Center for Complex Systems, Namur, Belgium
| | - Frederik De Laender
- University of Namur, Institute of Life-Earth-Environment, Namur Center for Complex Systems, Namur, Belgium
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15
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Affiliation(s)
- Jürg W. Spaak
- Univ. of Namur, Inst. of Life‐Earth‐Environment, Namur Center for Complex Systems Namur Rue de Bruxelles Belgium
| | - Oscar Godoy
- Depto de Biología, Inst. Universitario de Investigación Marina (INMAR), Univ. de Cádiz Puerto Real Spain
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Univ. of Namur, Inst. of Life‐Earth‐Environment, Namur Center for Complex Systems Namur Rue de Bruxelles Belgium
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16
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Carpentier C, Barabás G, Spaak JW, De Laender F. Reinterpreting the relationship between number of species and number of links connects community structure and stability. Nat Ecol Evol 2021; 5:1102-1109. [PMID: 34059819 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-021-01468-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2020] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
For 50 years, ecologists have examined how the number of interactions (links) scales with the number of species in ecological networks. Here, we show that the way the number of links varies when species are sequentially removed from a community is fully defined by a single parameter identifiable from empirical data. We mathematically demonstrate that this parameter is network-specific and connects local stability and robustness, establishing a formal connection between community structure and two prime stability concepts. Importantly, this connection highlights a local stability-robustness trade-off, which is stronger in mutualistic than in trophic networks. Analysis of 435 empirical networks confirmed these results. We finally show how our network-specific approach relates to the classical across-network approach found in literature. Taken together, our results elucidate one of the intricate relationships between network structure and stability in community networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille Carpentier
- Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Life, Earth and the Environment, Namur Institute of Complex Systems, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium.
| | - György Barabás
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, Division of Theoretical Biology, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.,MTA-ELTE Theoretical Biology and Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Jürg Werner Spaak
- Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Life, Earth and the Environment, Namur Institute of Complex Systems, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium.,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Life, Earth and the Environment, Namur Institute of Complex Systems, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium
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17
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Zhao Q, De Laender F, Van den Brink PJ. Community composition modifies direct and indirect effects of pesticides in freshwater food webs. Sci Total Environ 2020; 739:139531. [PMID: 32531685 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2020] [Revised: 05/10/2020] [Accepted: 05/16/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
For environmental risk assessment, the effects of pesticides on aquatic ecosystems are often assessed based on single species tests, disregarding the potential influence of community composition. We, therefore, studied the influence of changing the horizontal (the number of species within trophic levels) and vertical composition (number of trophic levels) on the ecological effects of the herbicide linuron and the insecticide chlorpyrifos, targeting producers and herbivores, respectively. We tested how adding, to a single primary producer, 4 selected competing producer species, 0-1-4 selected herbivore species, and one selected predator species resulting in 1, 2 and 3 trophic levels, changes the effects of the two pesticides. Linuron decreased producer biovolume less (17%) when the 4 producers were added, because insensitive producers compensated for the loss of sensitive producers. However, linuron decreased producer biovolume 42% and 32% more as we increased the number of herbivore species from 0 to 4 and as we increased trophic levels from 1 to 3, respectively. The indirect negative effect of linuron on herbivore biovolume was 11% and 15% lower when more producer and herbivores were added, respectively. Adding a predator increased this indirect negative effect by 22%. Chlorpyrifos decreased herbivore biovolume about 10% less when adding multiple herbivore or producer species. However, adding a predator magnified the direct negative impact on herbivores (13%). Increasing the number of producer, herbivore species and adding trophic levels increased the indirect positive impact on producer biovolume (between 10% and 35%). Our study shows that changing horizontal composition can both increase and decrease the effects of the selected pesticides, while changing vertical composition by adding number of trophic levels always increased these effects. Therefore, single species sensitivity will not always represent a worst case estimate of ecological effects. Protecting the most sensitive species may not ensure protection of ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qinghua Zhao
- Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands.
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Namur Institute of Complex Systems, Institute of Life, Earth, and the Environment, University of Namur, Rue de Bruxelles 61, 5000 Namur, Belgium
| | - Paul J Van den Brink
- Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands; Wageningen Environmental Research, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands
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18
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Van den Berg SJP, Rendal C, Focks A, Butler E, Peeters ETHM, De Laender F, Van den Brink PJ. Potential impact of chemical stress on freshwater invertebrates: A sensitivity assessment on continental and national scale based on distribution patterns, biological traits, and relatedness. Sci Total Environ 2020; 731:139150. [PMID: 32413660 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2019] [Revised: 04/09/2020] [Accepted: 04/29/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Current chemical risk assessment approaches rely on a standard suite of test species to assess toxicity to environmental species. Assessment factors are used to extrapolate from single species to communities and ecosystem effects. This approach is pragmatic, but lacks resolution in biological and environmental parameters. Novel modelling approaches can help improve the biological resolution of assessments by using mechanistic information to identify priority species and priority regions that are potentially most impacted by chemical stressors. In this study we developed predictive sensitivity models by combining species-specific information on acute chemical sensitivity (LC50 and EC50), traits, and taxonomic relatedness. These models were applied at two spatial scales to reveal spatial differences in the sensitivity of species assemblages towards two chemical modes of action (MOA): narcosis and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition. We found that on a relative scale, 46% and 33% of European species were ranked as more sensitive towards narcosis and AChE inhibition, respectively. These more sensitive species were distributed with higher occurrences in the south and north-eastern regions, reflecting known continental patterns of endemic macroinvertebrate biodiversity. We found contradicting sensitivity patterns depending on the MOA for UK scenarios, with more species displaying relative sensitivity to narcotic MOA in north and north-western regions, and more species with relative sensitivity to AChE inhibition MOA in south and south-western regions. Overall, we identified hotspots of species sensitive to chemical stressors at two spatial scales, and discuss data gaps and crucial technological advances required for the successful application of the proposed methodology to invertebrate scenarios, which remain underrepresented in global conservation priorities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanne J P Van den Berg
- Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management group, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands; Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Namur Institute of Complex Systems, and Institute of Life, Earth, and the Environment, University of Namur, Rue de Bruxelles 61, 5000 Namur, Belgium.
| | - Cecilie Rendal
- Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre, Unilever, Colworth Science Park, Sharnbrook MK441LQ, United Kingdom
| | - Andreas Focks
- Wageningen Environmental Research, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Emma Butler
- Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre, Unilever, Colworth Science Park, Sharnbrook MK441LQ, United Kingdom
| | - Edwin T H M Peeters
- Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management group, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Namur Institute of Complex Systems, and Institute of Life, Earth, and the Environment, University of Namur, Rue de Bruxelles 61, 5000 Namur, Belgium
| | - Paul J Van den Brink
- Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management group, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands; Wageningen Environmental Research, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands
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19
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Parmentier T, De Laender F, Bonte D. The topology and drivers of ant-symbiont networks across Europe. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2020; 95:1664-1688. [PMID: 32691527 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2019] [Revised: 06/16/2020] [Accepted: 06/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Intimate associations between different species drive community composition across ecosystems. Understanding the ecological and evolutionary drivers of these symbiotic associations is challenging because their structure eventually determines stability and resilience of the entire species network. Here, we compiled a detailed database on naturally occurring ant-symbiont networks in Europe to identify factors that affect symbiont network topology. These networks host an unrivalled diversity of macrosymbiotic associations, spanning the entire mutualism-antagonism continuum, including: (i) myrmecophiles - commensalistic and parasitic arthropods; (ii) trophobionts - mutualistic aphids, scale insects, planthoppers and caterpillars; (iii) social parasites - parasitic ant species; (iv) parasitic helminths; and (v) parasitic fungi. We dissected network topology to investigate what determines host specificity, symbiont species richness, and the capacity of different symbiont types to switch hosts. We found 722 macrosymbionts (multicellular symbionts) associated with European ants. Symbiont type explained host specificity and the average relatedness of the host species. Social parasites were associated with few hosts that were phylogenetically highly related, whereas the other symbiont types interacted with a larger number of hosts across a wider taxonomic distribution. The hosts of trophobionts were the least phylogenetically related across all symbiont types. Colony size, host range and habitat type predicted total symbiont richness: ant hosts with larger colony size, a larger distribution range or with a wider habitat range contained more symbiont species. However, we found that different sets of host factors affected diversity in the different types of symbionts. Ecological factors, such as colony size, host range and niche width predominantly determined myrmecophile species richness, whereas host phylogeny was the most important predictor of mutualistic trophobiont, social parasite and parasitic helminth species richness. Lastly, we found that hosts with a common biogeographic history support a more similar community of symbionts. Phylogenetically related hosts also shared more trophobionts, social parasites and helminths, but not myrmecophiles. Taken together, these results suggest that ecological and evolutionary processes structure host specificity and symbiont richness in large-scale ant-symbiont networks, but these drivers may shift in importance depending on the type of symbiosis. Our findings highlight the potential of well-characterized bipartite networks composed of different types of symbioses to identify candidate processes driving community composition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Parmentier
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Department of Biology, Ghent University, Ghent, B-9000, Belgium.,Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Namur Institute of Complex Systems, and Institute of Life, Earth, and the Environment, University of Namur, Namur, 5000, Belgium
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Namur Institute of Complex Systems, and Institute of Life, Earth, and the Environment, University of Namur, Namur, 5000, Belgium
| | - Dries Bonte
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Department of Biology, Ghent University, Ghent, B-9000, Belgium
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20
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Beaumelle L, De Laender F, Eisenhauer N. Biodiversity mediates the effects of stressors but not nutrients on litter decomposition. eLife 2020; 9:55659. [PMID: 32589139 PMCID: PMC7402682 DOI: 10.7554/elife.55659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2020] [Accepted: 06/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the consequences of ongoing biodiversity changes for ecosystems is a pressing challenge. Controlled biodiversity-ecosystem function experiments with random biodiversity loss scenarios have demonstrated that more diverse communities usually provide higher levels of ecosystem functioning. However, it is not clear if these results predict the ecosystem consequences of environmental changes that cause non-random alterations in biodiversity and community composition. We synthesized 69 independent studies reporting 660 observations of the impacts of two pervasive drivers of global change (chemical stressors and nutrient enrichment) on animal and microbial decomposer diversity and litter decomposition. Using meta-analysis and structural equation modeling, we show that declines in decomposer diversity and abundance explain reduced litter decomposition in response to stressors but not to nutrients. While chemical stressors generally reduced biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, detrimental effects of nutrients occurred only at high levels of nutrient inputs. Thus, more intense environmental change does not always result in stronger responses, illustrating the complexity of ecosystem consequences of biodiversity change. Overall, these findings provide strong evidence that the consequences of observed biodiversity change for ecosystems depend on the kind of environmental change, and are especially significant when human activities decrease biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Léa Beaumelle
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.,Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Namur Institute of Complex Systems, and Institute of Life, Earth, and the Environment, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium
| | - Nico Eisenhauer
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.,Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
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21
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Luong AD, Dewulf J, De Laender F. Quantifying the primary biotic resource use by fisheries: A global assessment. Sci Total Environ 2020; 719:137352. [PMID: 32135330 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2019] [Revised: 02/13/2020] [Accepted: 02/14/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
In this paper, the specific primary production required (SPPR expressed as kg-NPP/kg-fish in wet weight) of more than 1700 marine species were calculated directly from 96 published food web models using the newly developed SPPR calculation framework. The relationship between SPPR and other ecological factors were then statistically analyzed. Among- and within-species variability of SPPR were found to be both explained by trophic level (TL), suggesting similar mechanisms underpinning both sources of variability. Among species, we found that harvesting species at higher mean trophic levels (MTL) increases the mean SPPR by a factor of 19 per 1 unit increase in MTL. Based on our empirical relationship, the mean SPPR of more than 9000 marine species were predicted and subsequently used to assess the primary production required (PPR) to support fisheries in five major fishing countries in Europe. The results indicated that conventional approach to estimating PPR, which neglects food web ecology, can underestimate PPR by up to a factor of 5. Within species, we found that harvesting populations occupying a higher TL leads to a higher SPPR. For example, the SPPR of Atlantic cod in the Celtic Sea (TL = 4.75) was 5 times higher than in the Gilbert Bay (TL = 3.3). Our results, which are based on large amounts of field data, highlight the importance of properly accounting for ecological factors during the impact assessment of fisheries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anh D Luong
- Department of Sustainable Organic Chemistry and Technology, Research Group STEN, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, Ghent B-9000, Belgium; Department of Environmental Management, Faculty of Environment, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Hanoi, Viet Nam.
| | - Jo Dewulf
- Department of Sustainable Organic Chemistry and Technology, Research Group STEN, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, Ghent B-9000, Belgium.
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Namur Institute of Complex Systems, the Institute of Life, Earth, and Environment, Université de Namur, Rue de Bruxelles, 61 Namur, Belgium.
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22
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Orr JA, Vinebrooke RD, Jackson MC, Kroeker KJ, Kordas RL, Mantyka-Pringle C, Van den Brink PJ, De Laender F, Stoks R, Holmstrup M, Matthaei CD, Monk WA, Penk MR, Leuzinger S, Schäfer RB, Piggott JJ. Towards a unified study of multiple stressors: divisions and common goals across research disciplines. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20200421. [PMID: 32370677 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.0421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 116] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Anthropogenic environmental changes, or 'stressors', increasingly threaten biodiversity and ecosystem functioning worldwide. Multiple-stressor research is a rapidly expanding field of science that seeks to understand and ultimately predict the interactions between stressors. Reviews and meta-analyses of the primary scientific literature have largely been specific to either freshwater, marine or terrestrial ecology, or ecotoxicology. In this cross-disciplinary study, we review the state of knowledge within and among these disciplines to highlight commonality and division in multiple-stressor research. Our review goes beyond a description of previous research by using quantitative bibliometric analysis to identify the division between disciplines and link previously disconnected research communities. Towards a unified research framework, we discuss the shared goal of increased realism through both ecological and temporal complexity, with the overarching aim of improving predictive power. In a rapidly changing world, advancing our understanding of the cumulative ecological impacts of multiple stressors is critical for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management. Identifying and overcoming the barriers to interdisciplinary knowledge exchange is necessary in rising to this challenge. Division between ecosystem types and disciplines is largely a human creation. Species and stressors cross these borders and so should the scientists who study them.
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Affiliation(s)
- James A Orr
- School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Rolf D Vinebrooke
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | | | - Kristy J Kroeker
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Rebecca L Kordas
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Berkshire, UK
| | - Chrystal Mantyka-Pringle
- School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.,Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada
| | - Paul J Van den Brink
- Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.,Wageningen Environmental Research, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Namur Institute of Complex Systems, and Institute of Life, Earth, and the Environment, University of Namur, Rue de Bruxelles 61, 5000 Namur, Belgium
| | - Robby Stoks
- Evolutionary Stress Ecology and Ecotoxicology, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | | | | | - Wendy A Monk
- Environment and Climate Change Canada at Canadian Rivers Institute, Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
| | - Marcin R Penk
- School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Sebastian Leuzinger
- Institute for Applied Ecology, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Ralf B Schäfer
- Quantitative Landscape Ecology, iES-Institute for Environmental Sciences, University Koblenz-Landau, Landau in der Pfalz, Germany
| | - Jeremy J Piggott
- School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
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23
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Spaak JW, De Laender F. Intuitive and broadly applicable definitions of niche and fitness differences. Ecol Lett 2020; 23:1117-1128. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.13511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2020] [Revised: 02/14/2020] [Accepted: 03/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jurg W. Spaak
- University of Namur Institute of Life‐Earth‐Environment Namur Center for Complex Systems Namur Rue de Bruxelles 61 Belgium
| | - Frederik De Laender
- University of Namur Institute of Life‐Earth‐Environment Namur Center for Complex Systems Namur Rue de Bruxelles 61 Belgium
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24
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Reyns W, Rineau F, Spaak JW, Franken O, Berg MP, Van Der Plas F, Bardgett RD, Beenaerts N, De Laender F. Food Web Uncertainties Influence Predictions of Climate Change Effects on Soil Carbon Sequestration in Heathlands. Microb Ecol 2020; 79:686-693. [PMID: 31654107 DOI: 10.1007/s00248-019-01444-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2019] [Accepted: 09/20/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Carbon cycling models consider soil carbon sequestration a key process for climate change mitigation. However, these models mostly focus on abiotic soil processes and, despite its recognized critical mechanistic role, do not explicitly include interacting soil organisms. Here, we use a literature study to show that even a relatively simple soil community (heathland soils) contains large uncertainties in temporal and spatial food web structure. Next, we used a Lotka-Volterra-based food web model to demonstrate that, due to these uncertainties, climate change can either increase or decrease soil carbon sequestration to varying extents. Both the strength and direction of changes strongly depend on (1) the main consumer's (enchytraeid worms) feeding preferences and (2) whether decomposers (fungi) or enchytraeid worms are more sensitive to stress. Hence, even for a soil community with a few dominant functional groups and a simulation model with a few parameters, filling these knowledge gaps is a critical first step towards the explicit integration of soil food web dynamics into carbon cycling models in order to better assess the role soils play in climate change mitigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wouter Reyns
- Environmental Biology Research Group, Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Agoralaan Building D, 3590, Diepenbeek, Belgium.
- Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Namur Institute of Complex Systems, and Institute of Life, Earth, and the Environment, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium.
| | - Francois Rineau
- Environmental Biology Research Group, Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Agoralaan Building D, 3590, Diepenbeek, Belgium
| | - Jürg W Spaak
- Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Namur Institute of Complex Systems, and Institute of Life, Earth, and the Environment, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium
| | - Oscar Franken
- Section of Animal Ecology, Department of Ecological Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081, HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Matty P Berg
- Section of Animal Ecology, Department of Ecological Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081, HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Community and Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute of Evolutionary Life Science, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747, AG, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Fons Van Der Plas
- Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325, Frankfurt, Germany
- Department of Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, University of Leipzig, Johannisallee 21-23, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Richard D Bardgett
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Michael Smith Building, The University of Manchester, M13 9PT, Manchester, UK
| | - Natalie Beenaerts
- Environmental Biology Research Group, Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Agoralaan Building D, 3590, Diepenbeek, Belgium
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Namur Institute of Complex Systems, and Institute of Life, Earth, and the Environment, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium
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25
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Weise H, Auge H, Baessler C, Bärlund I, Bennett EM, Berger U, Bohn F, Bonn A, Borchardt D, Brand F, Chatzinotas A, Corstanje R, De Laender F, Dietrich P, Dunker S, Durka W, Fazey I, Groeneveld J, Guilbaud CSE, Harms H, Harpole S, Harris J, Jax K, Jeltsch F, Johst K, Joshi J, Klotz S, Kühn I, Kuhlicke C, Müller B, Radchuk V, Reuter H, Rinke K, Schmitt‐Jansen M, Seppelt R, Singer A, Standish RJ, Thulke H, Tietjen B, Weitere M, Wirth C, Wolf C, Grimm V. Resilience trinity: safeguarding ecosystem functioning and services across three different time horizons and decision contexts. OIKOS 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.07213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Hanna Weise
- Dept. of Ecological Modelling, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research –UFZ Leipzig Germany
- Inst. of Biology, Freie Univ. Berlin Germany
| | - Harald Auge
- Dept. of Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Halle (Saale) Germany
| | - Cornelia Baessler
- Dept. of Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Halle (Saale) Germany
| | - Ilona Bärlund
- Dept. of Aquatic Ecosystems Analysis and Management, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Magdeburg Germany
| | - Elena M. Bennett
- Dept. of Natural Resource Sciences and McGill School of Environment, McGill Univ. Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue QC Canada
| | - Uta Berger
- Dept. of Forest Sciences, Inst. of Forest Growth and Forest Computer Sciences, Technische Univ. Dresden Tharandt Germany
| | - Friedrich Bohn
- Dept. of Ecological Modelling, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research –UFZ Leipzig Germany
| | - Aletta Bonn
- Dept. of Ecosystem Services, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Leipzig Germany
- Inst. of Biodiversity, Univ. of Jena Jena Germany
- C. Wirth, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig Leipzig Germany
| | - Dietrich Borchardt
- Dept. of Aquatic Ecosystems Analysis and Management, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Magdeburg Germany
| | - Fridolin Brand
- ZHAW School of Management and Law Winterthur Switzerland
| | - Antonis Chatzinotas
- Dept. of Environmental Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Leipzig Germany
| | - Ron Corstanje
- Cranfield Soil and Agrifood Institute, Cranfield Univ. Cranfield Bedfordshire UK
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Univ. of Namur Namur Belgium
| | - Peter Dietrich
- Dept. of Monitoring and Exploration Technologies, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Leipzig Germany
| | - Susanne Dunker
- C. Wirth, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig Leipzig Germany
- Dept. of Physiological Diversity, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research –UFZ Leipzig Germany
| | - Walter Durka
- Dept. of Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Halle (Saale) Germany
| | - Ioan Fazey
- School of the Environment, Univ. of Dundee Dundee UK
| | - Jürgen Groeneveld
- Dept. of Ecological Modelling, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research –UFZ Leipzig Germany
- Dept. of Forest Sciences, Inst. of Forest Growth and Forest Computer Sciences, Technische Univ. Dresden Tharandt Germany
- C. Wirth, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig Leipzig Germany
| | | | - Hauke Harms
- Dept. of Environmental Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Leipzig Germany
| | - Stanley Harpole
- C. Wirth, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig Leipzig Germany
- Dept. of Physiological Diversity, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research –UFZ Leipzig Germany
| | - Jim Harris
- Cranfield Inst, for Resilient Futures, Cranfield Univ. Cranfield Bedfordshire UK
| | - Kurt Jax
- Dept. of Conservation Biology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research –UFZ Leipzig Germany
- Chair of Restoration Ecology, Technische Univ. München Freising Germany
| | - Florian Jeltsch
- C. Wirth, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig Leipzig Germany
- Plant Ecology and Conservation Biology, Univ. of Potsdam Potsdam Germany
| | - Karin Johst
- Dept. of Ecological Modelling, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research –UFZ Leipzig Germany
| | - Jasmin Joshi
- Biodiversity Research/Systematic Botany, Univ. of Potsdam Potsdam Germany
- Berlin-Brandenburg Inst. of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB) Berlin Germany
| | - Stefan Klotz
- Dept. of Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Halle (Saale) Germany
- C. Wirth, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig Leipzig Germany
| | - Ingolf Kühn
- Dept. of Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Halle (Saale) Germany
- C. Wirth, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig Leipzig Germany
| | - Christian Kuhlicke
- Dept. of Urban and Environmental Sociology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Leipzig Germany
| | - Birgit Müller
- Dept. of Ecological Modelling, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research –UFZ Leipzig Germany
| | - Viktoriia Radchuk
- Dept. of Ecological Dynammics, Leibniz Inst. for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) Berlin Germany
| | - Hauke Reuter
- Dept. of Theoretical Ecology and Modelling, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) Bremen Germany
| | - Karsten Rinke
- Dept. of Lake Research, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Magdeburg Germany
| | - Mechthild Schmitt‐Jansen
- Dept. of Bioanalytical Ecotoxicology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research –UFZ Leipzig Germany
| | - Ralf Seppelt
- C. Wirth, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig Leipzig Germany
- Dept. of Computational Landscape Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Leipzig Germany
- Inst. of Geoscience and Geography, Martin Luther Univ. Halle-Wittenberg Germany
| | - Alexander Singer
- Swedish Species Information Centre, Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences Uppsala Sweden
| | - Rachel J. Standish
- School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch Univ. Murdoch WA Australia
| | - Hans‐H. Thulke
- Dept. of Ecological Modelling, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research –UFZ Leipzig Germany
| | - Britta Tietjen
- Inst. of Biology, Freie Univ. Berlin Germany
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB) Berlin Germany
| | - Markus Weitere
- Dept. of River Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Magdeburg Germany
| | - Christian Wirth
- C. Wirth, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig Leipzig Germany
| | - Christine Wolf
- C. Wirth, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig Leipzig Germany
- Dept. of Environmental Politics, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Leipzig Germany
| | - Volker Grimm
- Dept. of Ecological Modelling, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research –UFZ Leipzig Germany
- C. Wirth, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig Leipzig Germany
- Plant Ecology and Conservation Biology, Univ. of Potsdam Potsdam Germany
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26
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Van den Berg SJP, Baveco H, Butler E, De Laender F, Focks A, Franco A, Rendal C, Van den Brink PJ. Modeling the Sensitivity of Aquatic Macroinvertebrates to Chemicals Using Traits. Environ Sci Technol 2019; 53:6025-6034. [PMID: 31008596 PMCID: PMC6535724 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.9b00893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2019] [Revised: 04/15/2019] [Accepted: 04/22/2019] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
In this study, a trait-based macroinvertebrate sensitivity modeling tool is presented that provides two main outcomes: (1) it constructs a macroinvertebrate sensitivity ranking and, subsequently, a predictive trait model for each one of a diverse set of predefined Modes of Action (MOAs) and (2) it reveals data gaps and restrictions, helping with the direction of future research. Besides revealing taxonomic patterns of species sensitivity, we find that there was not one genus, family, or class which was most sensitive to all MOAs and that common test taxa were often not the most sensitive at all. Traits like life cycle duration and feeding mode were identified as important in explaining species sensitivity. For 71% of the species, no or incomplete trait data were available, making the lack of trait data the main obstacle in model construction. Research focus should therefore be on completing trait databases and enhancing them with finer morphological traits, focusing on the toxicodynamics of the chemical (e.g., target site distribution). Further improved sensitivity models can help with the creation of ecological scenarios by predicting the sensitivity of untested species. Through this development, our approach can help reduce animal testing and contribute toward a new predictive ecotoxicology framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanne J. P. Van den Berg
- Aquatic
Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Department
of Biology, University of Namur, Rue de Bruxelles 61, 5000 Namur, Belgium
| | - Hans Baveco
- Wageningen
Environmental Research, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Emma Butler
- Safety
and Environmental Assurance Centre, Unilever, Colworth Science Park, Sharnbrook MK441LQ, United Kingdom
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Department
of Biology, University of Namur, Rue de Bruxelles 61, 5000 Namur, Belgium
| | - Andreas Focks
- Wageningen
Environmental Research, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Antonio Franco
- Safety
and Environmental Assurance Centre, Unilever, Colworth Science Park, Sharnbrook MK441LQ, United Kingdom
| | - Cecilie Rendal
- Safety
and Environmental Assurance Centre, Unilever, Colworth Science Park, Sharnbrook MK441LQ, United Kingdom
| | - Paul J. Van den Brink
- Aquatic
Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Wageningen
Environmental Research, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
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27
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Zhao Q, Van den Brink PJ, Carpentier C, Wang YXG, Rodríguez-Sánchez P, Xu C, Vollbrecht S, Gillissen F, Vollebregt M, Wang S, De Laender F. Horizontal and vertical diversity jointly shape food web stability against small and large perturbations. Ecol Lett 2019; 22:1152-1162. [PMID: 31095883 PMCID: PMC6852190 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2019] [Revised: 02/19/2019] [Accepted: 04/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The biodiversity of food webs is composed of horizontal (i.e. within trophic levels) and vertical diversity (i.e. the number of trophic levels). Understanding their joint effect on stability is a key challenge. Theory mostly considers their individual effects and focuses on small perturbations near equilibrium in hypothetical food webs. Here, we study the joint effects of horizontal and vertical diversity on the stability of hypothetical (modelled) and empirical food webs. In modelled food webs, horizontal and vertical diversity increased and decreased stability, respectively, with a stronger positive effect of producer diversity on stability at higher consumer diversity. Experiments with an empirical plankton food web, where we manipulated horizontal and vertical diversity and measured stability from species interactions and from resilience against large perturbations, confirmed these predictions. Taken together, our findings highlight the need to conserve horizontal biodiversity at different trophic levels to ensure stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qinghua Zhao
- Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Paul J Van den Brink
- Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands.,Wageningen Environmental Research, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Camille Carpentier
- Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Namur Institute of Complex Systems, and Institute of Life, Earth, and the Environment, University of Namur, Rue de Bruxelles 61, 5000, Namur, Belgium
| | - Yingying X G Wang
- Resource Ecology Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 3a, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Pablo Rodríguez-Sánchez
- Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Chi Xu
- School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Silke Vollbrecht
- Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Frits Gillissen
- Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Marlies Vollebregt
- Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Shaopeng Wang
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Science, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, 100871, Beijing, China
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Namur Institute of Complex Systems, and Institute of Life, Earth, and the Environment, University of Namur, Rue de Bruxelles 61, 5000, Namur, Belgium
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28
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan De Raedt
- Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Applied Ecology, Dept of Applied Ecology and Environmental Biology, Ghent Univ Coupure Links 653 BE‐9000 Ghent Belgium
- Res. in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Univ. of Namur Namur Belgium
| | - Jan M. Baert
- Biology Dept, Ghent Univ., Ghent, Belgium, and: Biology Dept, Univ. of Antwerp Antwerp Belgium
| | - Colin R. Janssen
- Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Applied Ecology, Dept of Applied Ecology and Environmental Biology, Ghent Univ Coupure Links 653 BE‐9000 Ghent Belgium
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Res. in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Univ. of Namur Namur Belgium
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29
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Radchuk V, Laender FD, Cabral JS, Boulangeat I, Crawford M, Bohn F, Raedt JD, Scherer C, Svenning JC, Thonicke K, Schurr FM, Grimm V, Kramer-Schadt S. The dimensionality of stability depends on disturbance type. Ecol Lett 2019; 22:674-684. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.13226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2018] [Revised: 07/09/2018] [Accepted: 01/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Viktoriia Radchuk
- Department of Ecological Dynamics; Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW); Alfred-Kowalke-Straße 17 Berlin Germany
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Institute of Life-Earth-Environment; Namur Institute of Complex Systems; Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology; Université de Namur; Rue de Bruxelles 61 Namur Belgium
| | - Juliano Sarmento Cabral
- Ecosystem Modeling; Center for Computational and Theoretical Biology (CCTB); University of Würzburg; Emil-Fischer-Str. 32 Würzburg Germany
| | - Isabelle Boulangeat
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity; Department of Bioscience; Aarhus University; Ny Munkegade 114 Aarhus Denmark
- University Grenoble Alpes; Irstea LESSEM 38000 Grenoble France
| | - Michael Crawford
- Institute for Biochemistry and Biology; University of Potsdam; Maulbeerallee 2 Potsdam Germany
| | - Friedrich Bohn
- Department of Ecological Modelling; Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ; Permoserstr. 15 Leipzig Germany
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology; Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research; Atmospheric Environmental Research (IMK-IFU); Kreuzeckbahnstrasse 19 82467 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Germany
| | - Jonathan De Raedt
- Institute of Life-Earth-Environment; Namur Institute of Complex Systems; Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology; Université de Namur; Rue de Bruxelles 61 Namur Belgium
- Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Aquatic Ecology; Ghent University; Coupure Links 653 Ghent Belgium
| | - Cédric Scherer
- Department of Ecological Dynamics; Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW); Alfred-Kowalke-Straße 17 Berlin Germany
| | - Jens-Christian Svenning
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity; Department of Bioscience; Aarhus University; Ny Munkegade 114 Aarhus Denmark
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE); Aarhus University; Ny Munkegade 114 Aarhus Denmark
| | - Kirsten Thonicke
- Research Domain 1; “Earth System Analysis”; Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK); Telegrafenberg A31 Potsdam Germany
| | - Frank M. Schurr
- Institute of Landscape and Plant Ecology; University of Hohenheim; August-von-Hartmann-Str. 3 Stuttgart Germany
| | - Volker Grimm
- Institute for Biochemistry and Biology; University of Potsdam; Maulbeerallee 2 Potsdam Germany
- Department of Ecological Modelling; Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ; Permoserstr. 15 Leipzig Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig; Deutscher Platz 5e Leipzig Germany
| | - Stephanie Kramer-Schadt
- Department of Ecological Dynamics; Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW); Alfred-Kowalke-Straße 17 Berlin Germany
- Department of Ecology; Technische Universität Berlin; Rothenburgstrasse 12 12165 Berlin
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30
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Fronhofer EA, Legrand D, Altermatt F, Ansart A, Blanchet S, Bonte D, Chaine A, Dahirel M, De Laender F, De Raedt J, di Gesu L, Jacob S, Kaltz O, Laurent E, Little CJ, Madec L, Manzi F, Masier S, Pellerin F, Pennekamp F, Schtickzelle N, Therry L, Vong A, Winandy L, Cote J. Bottom-up and top-down control of dispersal across major organismal groups. Nat Ecol Evol 2018; 2:1859-1863. [DOI: 10.1038/s41559-018-0686-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2018] [Accepted: 09/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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31
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De Laender F. Community- and ecosystem-level effects of multiple environmental change drivers: Beyond null model testing. Glob Chang Biol 2018; 24:5021-5030. [PMID: 29959825 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2018] [Revised: 06/05/2018] [Accepted: 06/21/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the joint effect of multiple drivers of environmental change is a key scientific challenge. The dominant approach today is to compare observed joint effects with predictions from various types of null models. Drivers are said to combine synergistically (antagonistically) when their observed joint effect is larger (smaller) than that predicted by the null model. Here, I argue that this approach does not promote understanding of effects on important community- and ecosystem-level variables such as biodiversity and ecosystem function. I use ecological theory to show that different mechanisms can lead to the same deviation from a null model's prediction. Inversely, I show that the same mechanism can lead to different deviations from a null model's prediction. These examples illustrate that it is not possible to make strong mechanistic inferences from null models. Next, I present an alternative framework to study such effects. This framework makes a clear distinction between two different kinds of drivers (resource ratio shifts and multiple stressors) and integrates both by incorporating stressor effects into resource uptake theory. I show that this framework can advance understanding because of three reasons. First, it forces formalization of "multiple stressors," using factors that describe the number and kind of stressors, their selectivity and dynamic behaviour, and the initial trait diversity and tolerance among species. Second, it produces testable predictions on how these factors affect biodiversity and ecosystem function, alone and in combination with resource ratio shifts. Third, it can fail in informative ways. That is, its assumptions are clear, so that different kinds of deviations between predictions and observed effects can guide new experiments and theory improvement. I conclude that this framework will more effectively progress understanding of global change effects on communities and ecosystems than does the current practice of null model testing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Namur Institute of Complex Systems, and the Institute of Life, Earth, and Environment, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium
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Parmentier T, De Laender F, Wenseleers T, Bonte D. Prudent behavior rather than chemical deception enables a parasite to exploit its ant host. Behav Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ary134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Parmentier
- Department of Biology, Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat, Gent, Belgium
- Laboratory of Socioecology and Socioevolution, KU Leuven, Naamsestraat, Leuven, Belgium
- Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Namur Institute of Complex Systems, and Institute of Life, Earth, and the Environment, University of Namur, Rue de Bruxelles, Namur, Belgium
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Namur Institute of Complex Systems, and Institute of Life, Earth, and the Environment, University of Namur, Rue de Bruxelles, Namur, Belgium
| | - Tom Wenseleers
- Laboratory of Socioecology and Socioevolution, KU Leuven, Naamsestraat, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Dries Bonte
- Department of Biology, Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat, Gent, Belgium
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Lenaers M, Reyns W, Czech J, Carleer R, Basak I, Deferme W, Krupinska P, Yildiz T, Saro S, Remans T, Vangronsveld J, De Laender F, Rineau F. Links Between Heathland Fungal Biomass Mineralization, Melanization, and Hydrophobicity. Microb Ecol 2018; 76:762-770. [PMID: 29492595 DOI: 10.1007/s00248-018-1167-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2017] [Accepted: 02/19/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Comprehending the decomposition process is crucial for our understanding of the mechanisms of carbon (C) sequestration in soils. The decomposition of plant biomass has been extensively studied. It revealed that extrinsic biomass properties that restrict its access to decomposers influence decomposition more than intrinsic ones that are only related to its chemical structure. Fungal biomass has been much less investigated, even though it contributes to a large extent to soil organic matter, and is characterized by specific biochemical properties. In this study, we investigated the extent to which decomposition of heathland fungal biomass was affected by its hydrophobicity (extrinsic property) and melanin content (intrinsic property). We hypothesized that, as for plant biomass, hydrophobicity would have a greater impact on decomposition than melanin content. Mineralization was determined as the mineralization of soil organic carbon (SOC) into CO2 by headspace GC/MS after inoculation by a heathland soil microbial community. Results show that decomposition was not affected by hydrophobicity, but was negatively correlated with melanin content. We argue that it may indicate that either melanin content is both an intrinsic and extrinsic property, or that some soil decomposers evolved the ability to use surfactants to access to hydrophobic biomass. In the latter case, biomass hydrophobicity should not be considered as a crucial extrinsic factor. We also explored the ecology of decomposition, melanin content, and hydrophobicity, among heathland soil fungal guilds. Ascomycete black yeasts had the highest melanin content, and hyaline Basidiomycete yeasts the lowest. Hydrophobicity was an all-or-nothing trait, with most isolates being hydrophobic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathias Lenaers
- Centre for Environmental Sciences, Research Group Environmental Biology, Hasselt University, Agoralaan Building D, B-3590, Diepenbeek, Belgium
| | - Wouter Reyns
- Centre for Environmental Sciences, Research Group Environmental Biology, Hasselt University, Agoralaan Building D, B-3590, Diepenbeek, Belgium
- Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium
| | - Jan Czech
- Centre for Environmental Sciences, Research Group of Applied and Analytical Chemistry, Hasselt University, Agoralaan Building D, B-3590, Diepenbeek, Belgium
| | - Robert Carleer
- Centre for Environmental Sciences, Research Group of Applied and Analytical Chemistry, Hasselt University, Agoralaan Building D, B-3590, Diepenbeek, Belgium
| | - Indranil Basak
- Institute for Materials Research IMO-IMOMEC, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium
| | - Wim Deferme
- Institute for Materials Research IMO-IMOMEC, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium
| | | | - Talha Yildiz
- PXL, Agoralaan Building D, B-3590, Diepenbeek, Belgium
| | - Sherilyn Saro
- PXL, Agoralaan Building D, B-3590, Diepenbeek, Belgium
| | - Tony Remans
- PXL, Agoralaan Building D, B-3590, Diepenbeek, Belgium
| | - Jaco Vangronsveld
- Centre for Environmental Sciences, Research Group Environmental Biology, Hasselt University, Agoralaan Building D, B-3590, Diepenbeek, Belgium
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium
| | - Francois Rineau
- Centre for Environmental Sciences, Research Group Environmental Biology, Hasselt University, Agoralaan Building D, B-3590, Diepenbeek, Belgium.
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Van de Perre D, Roessink I, Janssen CR, Smolders E, De Laender F, Van den Brink PJ, De Schamphelaere KAC. The combined and interactive effects of zinc, temperature, and phosphorus on the structure and functioning of a freshwater community. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018; 37:2413-2427. [PMID: 29926964 DOI: 10.1002/etc.4201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2018] [Revised: 03/21/2018] [Accepted: 06/05/2018] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Ecotoxicological studies mainly consist of single-species experiments evaluating the effects of a single stressor. However, under natural conditions aquatic communities are exposed to a mixture of stressors. The present study aimed to identify how the toxicity of zinc (Zn) is affected by increased temperature and increased phosphorus (P) supply and how these interactions vary among species, functional groups, and community structure and function. Aquatic microcosms were subjected to 3 Zn concentrations (background, no Zn added, and 75 and 300 μg Zn/L), 2 temperatures (16-19 and 21-24 °C), and 2 different P additions (low, 0.02, and high, 0.4 mg P L-1 wk-1 ) for 5 wk using a full factorial design. During the study, consistent interactions between Zn and temperature were only rarely found at the species level (4%), but were frequently found at the functional group level (36%), for community structure (100%) and for community function (100%; such as dissolved organic carbon concentrations and total chlorophyll). The majority of the Zn × temperature interactions were observed at 300 μg Zn/L and generally indicated a smaller effect of Zn at higher temperature. Furthermore, no clear indication was found that high P addition by itself significantly affected the overall effects of Zn on the community at any level of organization. Interestingly, though, 90% of all the Zn × temperature interactions observed at the species, group, and community composition level were found under high P addition. Collectively, the results of our study with the model chemical Zn suggest that temperature and phosphorus loading to freshwater systems should be accounted for in risk assessment, because these factors may modify the effects of chemicals on the structure and functioning of aquatic communities, especially at higher levels of biological organization. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:2413-2427. © 2018 SETAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dimitri Van de Perre
- Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Aquatic Ecology, Environmental Toxicology Unit, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium
| | - Ivo Roessink
- Wageningen Environmental Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Colin R Janssen
- Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Aquatic Ecology, Environmental Toxicology Unit, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium
| | - Erik Smolders
- Division of Soil and Water Management, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Heverlee, Belgium
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium
| | - Paul J Van den Brink
- Wageningen Environmental Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Karel A C De Schamphelaere
- Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Aquatic Ecology, Environmental Toxicology Unit, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium
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35
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Mensens C, De Laender F, Janssen CR, Rivera FC, Sabbe K, De Troch M. Selective and context-dependent effects of chemical stress across trophic levels at the basis of marine food webs. Ecol Appl 2018; 28:1342-1353. [PMID: 29698586 DOI: 10.1002/eap.1737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2017] [Revised: 11/01/2017] [Accepted: 04/06/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Human activities increasingly impact the functioning of marine food webs, but anthropogenic stressors are seldom included in ecological study designs. Diet quality, as distinct from just diet quantity, has moreover rarely been highlighted in food web studies in a stress context. We measured the effects of metal and pesticide stress (copper and atrazine) on the contribution of a benthic intertidal diatom community to two processes that are key to the functioning of intertidal systems: biomass (diet quantity) and lipid (diet quality) production. We then examined if stressors affected diatom functioning by selectively targeting the species contributing most to functioning (selective stress effects) or by changing the species' functional contribution (context-dependent effects). Finally, we tested if stress-induced changes in diet quality altered the energy flow to the diatoms' main grazers (harpacticoid copepods). Diatom diet quantity was reduced by metal stress but not by low pesticide levels due to the presence of an atrazine-tolerant, mixotrophic species. Selective effects of the pesticide reduced diatom diet quality by 60% and 75% at low and high pesticide levels respectively, by shifting diatom community structure from dominance by lipid-rich species toward dominance by an atrazine-tolerant, but lipid-poor, species. Context-dependent effects did not affect individual diatom lipid content at low levels of both stressors, but caused diatoms to lose 40% of their lipids at high copper stress. Stress-induced changes in diet quality predicted the energy flow from the diatoms to their copepod consumers, which lost half of their lipids when feeding on diatoms grown under low and high pesticide and high metal stress. Selective pesticide effects were a more important threat for trophic energy transfer than context-dependent effects of both stressors, with shifts in diatom community structure affecting the energy flow to their copepod grazers at stress levels where no changes in diatom lipid content were detected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christoph Mensens
- Biology Department, Marine Biology, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281 - S8, 9000, Ghent, Belgium
- Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, Building F, 9000, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Biology Department, Université de Namur, Rue de Bruxelles 61, 5000, Namur, Belgium
| | - Colin R Janssen
- Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, Building F, 9000, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Frances Camille Rivera
- Biology Department, Marine Biology, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281 - S8, 9000, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Koen Sabbe
- Biology Department, Protistology and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281 - S8, 9000, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Marleen De Troch
- Biology Department, Marine Biology, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281 - S8, 9000, Ghent, Belgium
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Baert JM, Eisenhauer N, Janssen CR, De Laender F. Biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning respond unimodally to environmental stress. Ecol Lett 2018; 21:1191-1199. [PMID: 29869373 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2018] [Revised: 03/18/2018] [Accepted: 04/17/2018] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Understanding how biodiversity (B) affects ecosystem functioning (EF) is essential for assessing the consequences of ongoing biodiversity changes. An increasing number of studies, however, show that environmental conditions affect the shape of BEF relationships. Here, we first use a game-theoretic community model to reveal that a unimodal response of the BEF slope can be expected along environmental stress gradients, but also how the ecological mechanisms underlying this response may vary depending on how stress affects species interactions. Next, we analysed a global dataset of 44 experiments that crossed biodiversity with environmental conditions. Confirming our main model prediction, the effect of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning tends to be greater at intermediate levels of environmental stress, but varies among studies corresponding to differences in stress-effects on species interactions. Together, these results suggest that increases in stress from ongoing global environmental changes may amplify the consequences of biodiversity changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan M Baert
- Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Applied Ecology, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.,Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Research Group, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Antwerp, Belgium.,Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Nico Eisenhauer
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.,Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Colin R Janssen
- Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Applied Ecology, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Institute of Life-Earth-Environment, Namur Institute of Complex Systems, Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, University of Namur, Rue de Bruxelles 61, 5000, Namur, Belgium
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37
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Spaak JW, Baert JM, Baird DJ, Eisenhauer N, Maltby L, Pomati F, Radchuk V, Rohr JR, Van den Brink PJ, De Laender F. Shifts of community composition and population density substantially affect ecosystem function despite invariant richness. Ecol Lett 2017; 20:1315-1324. [PMID: 28921860 DOI: 10.1111/ele.12828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2017] [Revised: 04/27/2017] [Accepted: 07/20/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
There has been considerable focus on the impacts of environmental change on ecosystem function arising from changes in species richness. However, environmental change may affect ecosystem function without affecting richness, most notably by affecting population densities and community composition. Using a theoretical model, we find that, despite invariant richness, (1) small environmental effects may already lead to a collapse of function; (2) competitive strength may be a less important determinant of ecosystem function change than the selectivity of the environmental change driver and (3) effects on ecosystem function increase when effects on composition are larger. We also present a complementary statistical analysis of 13 data sets of phytoplankton and periphyton communities exposed to chemical stressors and show that effects on primary production under invariant richness ranged from -75% to +10%. We conclude that environmental protection goals relying on measures of richness could underestimate ecological impacts of environmental change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jurg W Spaak
- Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium.,Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Jan M Baert
- Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.,Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Department of Biology, University of Ghent, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Donald J Baird
- Department of Biology, Environment & Climate Change Canada @ Canadian Rivers Institute, University of New Brunswick, New Brunswick, Canada
| | - Nico Eisenhauer
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany.,German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Leipzig, Germany
| | - Lorraine Maltby
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Francesco Pomati
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Viktoriia Radchuk
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW), Alfred-Kowalke Strasse 17, 10315, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jason R Rohr
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA
| | - Paul J Van den Brink
- Alterra, Wageningen University and Research centre, Wageningen, The Netherlands.,Department of Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium
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Baert JM, De Laender F, Janssen CR. The Consequences of Nonrandomness in Species-Sensitivity in Relation to Functional Traits for Ecosystem-Level Effects of Chemicals. Environ Sci Technol 2017; 51:7228-7235. [PMID: 28489350 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.7b00527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Estimating ecosystem-level effects from single-species bioassays is a major challenge in environmental risk assessment. Most extrapolation procedures are based on the implicit assumption that species sensitivities are random with regard to their functional traits. Here, we explore how nonrandomness in species sensitivities affects how species-level and ecosystem level effects of chemical exposure correspond. The effect of a correlation between the trait value under control conditions and the sensitivity of the trait to chemical stress is studied for two traits (per capita growth rate and monoculture yield) under constant and temporary exposure. Theoretical model predictions are thereby validated against a 3-week microcosm experiment, in which eight marine diatoms systems with different correlations between trait values and sensitivities were temporary (1 week) or constantly (3 weeks) exposed to two concentrations of the herbicide atrazine (100 and 250 μg L-1). Negative correlations increased the reduction in ecosystem functioning (productivity) by atrazine for both traits. However, correlations in the per capita growth rate affected productivity only shortly following changes in environmental conditions, whereas correlations in the monoculture yield affected productivity throughout exposure. Correlations between species sensitivities and functional trait values can thus help to identify when ecosystem-level effects are likely to exceed species-level effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan M Baert
- Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Applied Ecology, Ghent University , Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium
- Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, University of Namur , Rue de Bruxelles 61, 5000 Namur, Belgium
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, University of Namur , Rue de Bruxelles 61, 5000 Namur, Belgium
| | - Colin R Janssen
- Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Applied Ecology, Ghent University , Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan M. Baert
- Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Applied Ecology Ghent University Coupure Links 653 building F 9000 Ghent Belgium
- Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology University of Namur Rue de Bruxelles 61 5000 Namur Belgium
| | - Stijn Jaspers
- Interuniversity Institute for Biostatistics & Statistical Bioinformatics (I‐BioStat) Hasselt University Agoralaan building D 3590 Diepenbeek Belgium
| | - Colin R. Janssen
- Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Applied Ecology Ghent University Coupure Links 653 building F 9000 Ghent Belgium
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology University of Namur Rue de Bruxelles 61 5000 Namur Belgium
| | - Marc Aerts
- Interuniversity Institute for Biostatistics & Statistical Bioinformatics (I‐BioStat) Hasselt University Agoralaan building D 3590 Diepenbeek Belgium
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Kulkarni D, De Laender F. The combined effects of biotic and abiotic stress on species richness and connectance. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0172828. [PMID: 28248985 PMCID: PMC5383007 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0172828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2016] [Accepted: 02/10/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Food web structure and species richness are both subject to biotic (e.g. predation pressure and resource limitation) and abiotic stress (e.g. environmental change). We investigated the combined effects of both types of stress on richness and connectance, and on their relationship, in a predator-prey system. To this end, we developed a mathematical two trophic level food-web model to investigate the effects of biotic and abiotic stress on food web connectance and species richness. We found negative effects of top-down and bottom-up control on prey and predator richness, respectively. Effects of top-down and bottom-up control were stronger when initial connectance was high and low, respectively. Bottom-up control could either aggravate or buffer negative effects of top-down control. Abiotic stress affecting predator richness had positive indirect effects on prey richness, but only when initial connectance was low. However, no indirect effects on predator richness were observed following direct effects on prey richness. Top-down and bottom-up control selected for weakly connected prey and highly connected predators, thereby decreasing and increasing connectance, respectively. Our simulations suggest a broad range of negative and positive richness-connectance relationships, thereby revisiting the often found negative relationship between richness and connectance in food webs. Our results suggest that (1) initial food-web connectance strongly influences the effects of biotic stress on richness and the occurrence of indirect effects on richness; and (2) the shape of the richness-connectance relationship depends on the type of biotic stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Devdutt Kulkarni
- Laboratory of Environmental Ecosystem Ecology, Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology (URBE), University of Namur, Namur, Belgium
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Laboratory of Environmental Ecosystem Ecology, Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology (URBE), University of Namur, Namur, Belgium
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Franco A, Price OR, Marshall S, Jolliet O, Van den Brink PJ, Rico A, Focks A, De Laender F, Ashauer R. Toward refined environmental scenarios for ecological risk assessment of down-the-drain chemicals in freshwater environments. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2017; 13:233-248. [PMID: 27260272 DOI: 10.1002/ieam.1801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2016] [Revised: 04/11/2016] [Accepted: 05/26/2016] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Current regulatory practice for chemical risk assessment suffers from the lack of realism in conventional frameworks. Despite significant advances in exposure and ecological effect modeling, the implementation of novel approaches as high-tier options for prospective regulatory risk assessment remains limited, particularly among general chemicals such as down-the-drain ingredients. While reviewing the current state of the art in environmental exposure and ecological effect modeling, we propose a scenario-based framework that enables a better integration of exposure and effect assessments in a tiered approach. Global- to catchment-scale spatially explicit exposure models can be used to identify areas of higher exposure and to generate ecologically relevant exposure information for input into effect models. Numerous examples of mechanistic ecological effect models demonstrate that it is technically feasible to extrapolate from individual-level effects to effects at higher levels of biological organization and from laboratory to environmental conditions. However, the data required to parameterize effect models that can embrace the complexity of ecosystems are large and require a targeted approach. Experimental efforts should, therefore, focus on vulnerable species and/or traits and ecological conditions of relevance. We outline key research needs to address the challenges that currently hinder the practical application of advanced model-based approaches to risk assessment of down-the-drain chemicals. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2017;13:233-248. © 2016 SETAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Franco
- Unilever, Safety & Environmental Assurance Centre, Colworth Science Park, Sharnbrook, United Kingdom
| | - Oliver R Price
- Unilever, Safety & Environmental Assurance Centre, Colworth Science Park, Sharnbrook, United Kingdom
| | - Stuart Marshall
- Unilever, Safety & Environmental Assurance Centre, Colworth Science Park, Sharnbrook, United Kingdom
| | - Olivier Jolliet
- Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Paul J Van den Brink
- Alterra, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Department of Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Andreu Rico
- Alterra, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- IMDEA Water Institute, Science and Technology Campus of the University of Alcalà, Alcalà de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Andreas Focks
- Alterra, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium
| | - Roman Ashauer
- Environment Department, University of York Heslington, York, United Kingdom
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Di Guardo A, Morselli M, Morabito G, Semplice M, Van den Brink PJ, De Laender F. European environmental scenarios of chemical bioavailability in freshwater systems. Sci Total Environ 2017; 580:1237-1246. [PMID: 27998653 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.12.084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2016] [Revised: 12/13/2016] [Accepted: 12/13/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
In exposure prediction for environmental risk assessment, the transition to more dynamic and realistic modelling approaches and scenarios has been recently identified as a major challenge, since it would allow a more accurate prediction of bioavailable concentrations and their variations in space and time. In this work, an improved version of the multimedia model ChimERA fate, including a phytoplankton compartment and equations to calculate phytoplankton, detritus and dissolved organic matter variations in time, was developed. The model was parameterized to simulate five dynamic scenarios for shallow meso-eutrophic water bodies based on a latitudinal gradient (in Europe); such scenarios include seasonal profiles of water temperature, phytoplankton biomass, detritus, and dissolved organic matter. Model runs were performed for each scenario for 8 hydrophobic chemicals (PCB congeners), with the aim of investigating the influence of scenario characteristics and compound properties on bioavailable concentrations. The key processes were adsorption/uptake by phytoplankton and deposition to sediment of detritus-bound chemicals. The northern scenarios ("Scandinavia" and "UK") showed the highest bioavailable concentrations, with annual maximum/minimum concentration up to 25; in contrast, for example, maximum concentrations in the "Mediterranean" scenario were lower by a factor of 2 to 9 with respect to the northern ones (depending on chemical hydrophobicity), due to the generally higher biomass and carbon levels, and showed only limited seasonal variability (up to a factor of 4). These results highlight the importance of including biomass and organic carbon dynamics in both modelling approaches and scenarios for the evaluation of exposure concentrations in aquatic environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Di Guardo
- Department of Science and High Technology, University of Insubria, Via Valleggio 11, 22100 Como, CO, Italy.
| | - Melissa Morselli
- Department of Science and High Technology, University of Insubria, Via Valleggio 11, 22100 Como, CO, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Morabito
- National Research Council, Institute for Ecosystem Study, Largo Tonolli 50, 28922 Verbania-Pallanza, Italy
| | - Matteo Semplice
- Dipartimento di Matematica, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via C. Alberto 10, 10123 Torino, TO, Italy
| | - Paul J Van den Brink
- Wageningen Environmental Research (Alterra), P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands; Department of Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management, Wageningen University, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Frederik De Laender
- University of Namur, Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Ecology, Rue de Bruxelles 61, 5000 Namur, Belgium
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43
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De Hoop L, Viaene KPJ, Schipper AM, Huijbregts MAJ, De Laender F, Hendriks AJ. Time-varying effects of aromatic oil constituents on the survival of aquatic species: Deviations between model estimates and observations. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017; 36:128-136. [PMID: 27225858 DOI: 10.1002/etc.3508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2015] [Revised: 07/28/2015] [Accepted: 05/24/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
There is a need to study the time course of toxic chemical effects on organisms because there might be a time lag between the onset of chemical exposure and the corresponding adverse effects. For aquatic organisms, crude oil and oil constituents originating from either natural seeps or human activities can be relevant case studies. In the present study the authors tested a generic toxicokinetic model to quantify the time-varying effects of various oil constituents on the survival of aquatic organisms. The model is based on key parameters applicable to an array of species and compounds with baseline toxicity reflected by a generic, internal toxicity threshold or critical body burden (CBB). They compared model estimates with experimental data on the effects of 8 aromatic oil constituents on the survival of aquatic species including crustaceans and fish. The average model uncertainty, expressed as the root mean square error, was 0.25 (minimum-maximum, 0.04-0.67) on a scale between 0 and 1. The estimated survival was generally lower than the measured survival right after the onset of oil constituent exposure. In contrast, the model underestimated the maximum mortality for crustaceans and fish observed in the laboratory. Thus, the model based on the CBB concept failed to adequately predict the lethal effects of the oil constituents on crustaceans and fish. Possible explanations for the deviations between model estimates and observations may include incorrect assumptions regarding a constant lethal body burden, the absence of biotransformation products, and the steady state of aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations in organisms. Clearly, a more complex model approach than the generic model used in the present study is needed to predict toxicity dynamics of narcotic chemicals. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:128-136. © 2016 SETAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisette De Hoop
- Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Department of Environmental Science, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Karel P J Viaene
- Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Aquatic Ecology, Environmental Toxicology Unit (GhEnToxLab), Ghent University (UGent), Ghent, Belgium
| | - Aafke M Schipper
- Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Department of Environmental Science, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Mark A J Huijbregts
- Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Department of Environmental Science, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium
| | - A Jan Hendriks
- Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Department of Environmental Science, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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Baert JM, De Laender F, Sabbe K, Janssen CR. Biodiversity increases functional and compositional resistance, but decreases resilience in phytoplankton communities. Ecology 2016; 97:3433-3440. [DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2016] [Revised: 08/18/2016] [Accepted: 09/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jan M. Baert
- Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Applied Ecology; Ghent University; Coupure Links 653 Ghent 9000 Belgium
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology; University of Namur; Rue de Bruxelles 61 Namur 5000 Belgium
| | - Koen Sabbe
- Laboratory of Protistology & Aquatic Ecology; Ghent University; Krijgslaan 281-S8 Ghent 9000 Belgium
| | - Colin R. Janssen
- Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Applied Ecology; Ghent University; Coupure Links 653 Ghent 9000 Belgium
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45
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De Laender F, Rohr JR, Ashauer R, Baird DJ, Berger U, Eisenhauer N, Grimm V, Hommen U, Maltby L, Meliàn CJ, Pomati F, Roessink I, Radchuk V, Van den Brink PJ. Reintroducing Environmental Change Drivers in Biodiversity-Ecosystem Functioning Research. Trends Ecol Evol 2016; 31:905-915. [PMID: 27742415 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2016.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2016] [Revised: 09/18/2016] [Accepted: 09/19/2016] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
For the past 20 years, research on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (B-EF) has only implicitly considered the underlying role of environmental change. We illustrate that explicitly reintroducing environmental change drivers in B-EF research is needed to predict the functioning of ecosystems facing changes in biodiversity. Next we show how this reintroduction improves experimental control over community composition and structure, which helps to provide mechanistic insight on how multiple aspects of biodiversity relate to function and how biodiversity and function relate in food webs. We also highlight challenges for the proposed reintroduction and suggest analyses and experiments to better understand how random biodiversity changes, as studied by classic approaches in B-EF research, contribute to the shifts in function that follow environmental change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium.
| | - Jason R Rohr
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Roman Ashauer
- Environment Department, University of York, York, UK
| | - Donald J Baird
- Environment Canada, Canadian Rivers Institute, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, Canada
| | - Uta Berger
- Institute of Forest Growth and Computer Sciences, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Nico Eisenhauer
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany; German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Volker Grimm
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany; Department of Ecological Modelling, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Udo Hommen
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, Aachen, Germany
| | - Lorraine Maltby
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Carlos J Meliàn
- Center for Ecology, Evolution, and Biogeochemistry, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Kastanienbaum, Switzerland
| | - Francesco Pomati
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Department of Aquatic Ecology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Ivo Roessink
- Alterra, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Viktoriia Radchuk
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany; Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
| | - Paul J Van den Brink
- Alterra, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen, The Netherlands; Department of Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
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46
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De Hoop L, Broch OJ, Hendriks AJ, De Laender F. Crude oil affecting the biomass of the marine copepod Calanus finmarchicus: Comparing a simple and complex population model. Mar Environ Res 2016; 119:197-206. [PMID: 27326463 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2016.06.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2016] [Revised: 06/08/2016] [Accepted: 06/10/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
In the current study differences were evaluated between a complex 3D multistage population model (SINMOD) and a simpler consumer-resource population model for estimating the effects of crude oil on the marine copepod Calanus finmarchicus. The SINTEF OSCAR model was used to simulate hypothetical oil spills in the Lofoten area in 1995, 1997, and 2001. Both population models simulated a negligible effect of crude oil on the Calanus' biomass when assuming low species sensitivity. The simple model estimated a larger effect on the biomass (up to a 100% decline) compared to the complex model (maximum decline of 60-80%) at high species sensitivity to crude oil. These differences may be related to the inclusion of copepod advection in the complex model. Our study showed that if little data is available to parameterize a model, or if computational resources are scarce, the simple model could be used for risk screening. Nevertheless, the possibility of including a dilution factor for time-varying biomass should be examined to improve the estimations of the simple model. The complex model should be used for a more in depth risk analysis, as it includes physical processes such as the drift of organisms and differentiation between developmental stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisette De Hoop
- Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Department of Environmental Science, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Ole Jacob Broch
- SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture, Postboks 4762 Sluppen, 7465 Trondheim, Norway
| | - A Jan Hendriks
- Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Department of Environmental Science, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, University of Namur, Rue de Bruxelles 61, 5000 Namur, Belgium
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47
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Everaert G, De Laender F, Claessens M, Baert J, Monteyne E, Roose P, Goethals PLM, Janssen CR. Realistic environmental mixtures of hydrophobic compounds do not alter growth of a marine diatom. Mar Pollut Bull 2016; 102:58-64. [PMID: 26656802 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.11.058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2015] [Revised: 11/24/2015] [Accepted: 11/30/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
In this paper we determine whether a realistic mixture of hydrophobic chemicals affects the growth dynamics of a marine diatom and how this effect compares to the effect of temperature, light regime and nutrient conditions. To do so, we examine the specific growth rate of Phaeodactylum tricornutum in a 72 h algal growth inhibition test using a full factorial design with three nutrient regimes, two test temperatures, three light intensities and three chemical exposures. Passive samplers were used to achieve exposure to realistic mixtures of organic chemicals close to ambient concentrations. Nutrient regime, temperature and time interval (24, 48 and 72 h) explained 85% of the observed variability in the experimental data. The variability explained by chemical exposure was about 1%. Overall, ambient concentrations of hydrophobic compounds present in Belgian coastal waters, and for which the passive samplers have affinity, are too low to affect the intrinsic growth rate of P. tricornutum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gert Everaert
- Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Université de Namur, Namur, Belgium
| | | | - Jan Baert
- Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Els Monteyne
- Management Unit of the North Sea Mathematical Model, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Ostend, Belgium
| | - Patrick Roose
- Management Unit of the North Sea Mathematical Model, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Ostend, Belgium
| | - Peter L M Goethals
- Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Colin R Janssen
- Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
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Dohmen GP, Preuss TG, Hamer M, Galic N, Strauss T, van den Brink PJ, De Laender F, Bopp S. Population-level effects and recovery of aquatic invertebrates after multiple applications of an insecticide. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2016; 12:67-81. [PMID: 26119989 DOI: 10.1002/ieam.1676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2014] [Revised: 12/30/2014] [Accepted: 05/21/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Standard risk assessment of plant protection products (PPP) combines "worst-case" exposure scenarios with effect thresholds using assessment (safety) factors to account for uncertainties. If needed, risks can be addressed applying more realistic conditions at higher tiers, which refine exposure and/or effect assessments using additional data. However, it is not possible to investigate the wide range of potential scenarios experimentally. In contrast, ecotoxicological mechanistic effect models do allow for addressing a multitude of scenarios. Furthermore, they may aid the interpretation of experiments such as mesocosm studies, allowing extrapolation to conditions not covered in experiments. Here, we explore how to use mechanistic effect models in the aquatic risk assessment of a model insecticide (Modelmethrin), applied several times per season but rapidly dissipating between applications. The case study focuses on potential effects on aquatic arthropods, the most sensitive group for this substance. The models provide information on the impact of a number of short exposure pulses on sensitive and/or vulnerable populations and, when impacted, assess recovery. The species to model were selected based on their sensitivity in laboratory and field (mesocosm) studies. The general unified threshold model for survival (GUTS) model, which describes the toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics of chemicals in individuals, was linked to 3 individual-based models (IBM), translating individual survival of sensitive organisms into population-level effects. The impact of pulsed insecticide exposures on populations were modeled using the spatially explicit IBM metapopulation model for assessing spatial and temporal effects of pesticides (MASTEP) for Gammarus pulex, the Chaoborus IBM for populations of Chaoborus crystallinus, and the "IdamP" model for populations of Daphnia magna. The different models were able to predict the potential effects of Modelmethrin applications to key arthropod species inhabiting different aquatic ecosystems; the most sensitive species were significantly impacted unless respective mitigation measures were implemented (buffer zones resulting in reduced exposure). As expected the impact was stronger in shallow ditches as compared to deeper pond scenarios. Furthermore, as expected, recovery depended on factors such as temperature (affecting population growth rate and number of generations) and the occurence of nonimpacted aquatic ecosystems (their frequency and connectivity). These model predictions were largely in line with field observations and/or the results of a mesocosm study, providing additional evidence on the suitability and reliability of the models for risk assessment purposes. Because of their flexibility, models may predict the likelihood of unacceptable effects-based on previously defined protection goals-for a range of insecticide exposure scenarios and freshwater habitats.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Peter Dohmen
- BASF SE, Agricultural Center Limburgerhof, Limburgerhof, Germany
| | - Thomas G Preuss
- RWTH Aachen University, Institute for Environmental Research, Aachen, Germany
- Bayer CropScience AG, Monheim am Rhein, Germany
| | - Mick Hamer
- Syngenta, Jealotts Hill International Research Station, Bracknell, Berks, United Kingdom
| | - Nika Galic
- Wageningen University, Department of Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management, Wageningen University and Research Centre, The Netherlands
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
| | - Tido Strauss
- Research Institute for Ecosystem Analysis and Assessment (gaiac), Aachen, Germany
| | - Paul J van den Brink
- Wageningen University, Department of Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management, Wageningen University and Research Centre, The Netherlands
- Alterra, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Université de Namur, Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Namur, Belgium
| | - Stephanie Bopp
- European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Pesticides Unit, Parma, Italy
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Luong AD, Schaubroeck T, Dewulf J, De Laender F. Re-evaluating Primary Biotic Resource Use for Marine Biomass Production: A New Calculation Framework. Environ Sci Technol 2015; 49:11586-11593. [PMID: 26348118 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.5b02515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
The environmental impacts of biomass harvesting can be quantified through the amount of net primary production required to produce one unit of harvested biomass (SPPR-specific primary production required). This paper presents a new calculation framework that explicitly takes into account full food web complexity and shows that the resulting SPPR for toothed whales in the Icelandic marine ecosystem is 2.8 times higher than the existing approach based on food web simplification. In addition, we show that our new framework can be coupled to food web modeling to examine how uncertainty on ecological data and processes can be accounted for while estimating SPPR. This approach reveals that an increase in the degree of heterotrophy by flagellates from 0% to 100% results in a two-fold increase in SPPR estimates in the Barents Sea. It also shows that the estimated SPPR is between 3.9 (herring) and 5.0 (capelin) times higher than that estimated when adopting food chain theory. SPPR resulting from our new approach is only valid for the given time period for which the food web is modeled and cannot be used to infer changes in SPPR when the food web is altered by changes in human exploitation or environmental changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anh D Luong
- Department of Sustainable Organic Chemistry and Technology, Research Group EnVOC, Ghent University , Coupure Links 653, Ghent B-9000, Belgium
- Department of Environmental Management, Faculty of Environment, Vietnam National University of Agriculture , Hanoi 10000, Vietnam
| | - Thomas Schaubroeck
- Department of Sustainable Organic Chemistry and Technology, Research Group EnVOC, Ghent University , Coupure Links 653, Ghent B-9000, Belgium
| | - Jo Dewulf
- Department of Sustainable Organic Chemistry and Technology, Research Group EnVOC, Ghent University , Coupure Links 653, Ghent B-9000, Belgium
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Sustainability Assessment Unit , Via E. Fermi 2749, I-21027 Ispra, Varese, Italy
| | - Frederik De Laender
- Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Université de Namur , Rue de Bruxelles, 61, Namur 5000, Belgium
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Morselli M, Semplice M, De Laender F, Van den Brink PJ, Di Guardo A. Importance of environmental and biomass dynamics in predicting chemical exposure in ecological risk assessment. Sci Total Environ 2015; 526:338-345. [PMID: 25967479 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.04.072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2015] [Revised: 04/16/2015] [Accepted: 04/17/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
In ecological risk assessment, exposure is generally modelled assuming static conditions, herewith neglecting the potential role of emission, environmental and biomass dynamics in affecting bioavailable concentrations. In order to investigate the influence of such dynamics on predicted bioavailable concentrations, the spatially-resolved dynamic model "ChimERA fate" was developed, incorporating macrophyte and particulate/dissolved organic carbon (POC/DOC) dynamics into a water-sediment system. An evaluation against three case studies revealed a satisfying model performance. Illustrative simulations then highlighted the potential spatio-temporal variability of bioavailable concentrations after a pulsed emission of four chemicals in a system composed of a pond connected to its inflow and outflow streams. Changes in macrophyte biomass and POC/DOC levels caused exposure variations which were up to a factor of 4.5 in time and even more significant (several orders of magnitude) in space, especially for highly hydrophobic chemicals. ChimERA fate thus revealed to be a useful tool to investigate such variations and to identify those environmental and ecological conditions in which risk is expected to be highest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa Morselli
- Department of Science and High Technology, University of Insubria, Via Valleggio 11, 22100 Como, CO, Italy
| | - Matteo Semplice
- Dipartimento di Matematica, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via C. Alberto 10, 10123 Torino, TO, Italy
| | - Frederik De Laender
- University of Namur, Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Ecology, Rue de Bruxelles 61, 5000 Namur, Belgium
| | - Paul J Van den Brink
- Alterra, Wageningen University and Research Centre, P.O. box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands; Department of Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management, Wageningen University, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Antonio Di Guardo
- Department of Science and High Technology, University of Insubria, Via Valleggio 11, 22100 Como, CO, Italy.
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