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Kominoski JS, Gaiser EE, Castañeda-Moya E, Davis SE, Dessu SB, Julian P, Lee DY, Marazzi L, Rivera-Monroy VH, Sola A, Stingl U, Stumpf S, Surratt D, Travieso R, Troxler TG. Disturbance legacies increase and synchronize nutrient concentrations and bacterial productivity in coastal ecosystems. Ecology 2020; 101:e02988. [PMID: 31958144 PMCID: PMC7317527 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2019] [Revised: 11/27/2019] [Accepted: 12/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Long‐term ecological research can resolve effects of disturbance on ecosystem dynamics by capturing the scale of disturbance and interactions with environmental changes. To quantify how disturbances interact with long‐term directional changes (sea‐level rise, freshwater restoration), we studied 17 yr of monthly dissolved organic carbon (DOC), total nitrogen (TN), and phosphorus (TP) concentrations and bacterioplankton productivity across freshwater‐to‐marine estuary gradients exposed to multiple disturbance events (e.g., droughts, fire, hurricanes, and low‐temperature anomalies) and long‐term increases in water levels. By studying two neighboring drainages that differ in hydrologic connectivity, we additionally tested how disturbance legacies are shaped by hydrologic connectivity. We predicted that disturbance events would interact with long‐term increases in water levels in freshwater and marine ecosystems to increase spatiotemporal similarity (i.e., synchrony) of organic matter, nutrients, and microbial activities. Wetlands along the larger, deeper, and tidally influenced Shark River Slough (SRS) drainage had higher and more variable DOC, TN, and TP concentrations than wetlands along the smaller, shallower, tidally restricted Taylor River Slough/Panhandle (TS/Ph) drainage. Along SRS, DOC concentrations declined with proximity to coast, and increased in magnitude and variability following drought and flooding in 2015 and a hurricane in 2017. Along TS/Ph, DOC concentrations varied by site (higher in marine than freshwater wetlands) but not year. In both drainages, increases in TN from upstream freshwater marshes occurred following fire in 2008 and droughts in 2010 and 2015, whereas downstream increases in TP occurred with coastal storm surge from hurricanes in 2005 and 2017. Decreases in DOC:TN and DOC:TP were explained by increased TN and TP. Increases in bacterioplankton productivity occurred throughout both drainages following low‐temperature events (2010 and 2011) and a hurricane (2017). Long‐term TN and TP concentrations and bacterioplankton productivity were correlated (r > 0.5) across a range of sampling distances (1–50 km), indicating spatiotemporal synchrony. DOC concentrations were not synchronized across space or time. Our study advances disturbance ecology theory by illustrating how disturbance events interact with long‐term environmental changes and hydrologic connectivity to determine the magnitude and extent of disturbance legacies. Understanding disturbance legacies will enhance prediction and enable more effective management of rapidly changing ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- John S Kominoski
- Department of Biological Sciences & Institute of Environment/Southeast Environmental Research Center, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, 33199, USA
| | - Evelyn E Gaiser
- Department of Biological Sciences & Institute of Environment/Southeast Environmental Research Center, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, 33199, USA
| | - Edward Castañeda-Moya
- Department of Biological Sciences & Institute of Environment/Southeast Environmental Research Center, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, 33199, USA
| | | | - Shimelis B Dessu
- Department of Earth and Environment & Institute of Environment/Southeast Environmental Research Center, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, 33199, USA
| | - Paul Julian
- Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, USA
| | - Dong Yoon Lee
- Department of Biological Sciences & Institute of Environment/Southeast Environmental Research Center, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, 33199, USA
| | - Luca Marazzi
- Department of Biological Sciences & Institute of Environment/Southeast Environmental Research Center, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, 33199, USA
| | - Victor H Rivera-Monroy
- Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, College of the Coast and the Environment, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70803, USA
| | - Andres Sola
- Department of Biological Sciences & Institute of Environment/Southeast Environmental Research Center, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, 33199, USA
| | - Ulrich Stingl
- Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Davie, Florida, 33314, USA
| | - Sandro Stumpf
- Department of Biological Sciences & Institute of Environment/Southeast Environmental Research Center, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, 33199, USA
| | | | - Rafael Travieso
- Department of Biological Sciences & Institute of Environment/Southeast Environmental Research Center, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, 33199, USA
| | - Tiffany G Troxler
- Department of Biological Sciences & Institute of Environment/Southeast Environmental Research Center, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, 33199, USA
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Dessu SB, Price RM, Troxler TG, Kominoski JS. Effects of sea-level rise and freshwater management on long-term water levels and water quality in the Florida Coastal Everglades. J Environ Manage 2018; 211:164-176. [PMID: 29408064 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.01.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [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: 09/19/2017] [Revised: 01/05/2018] [Accepted: 01/07/2018] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Since the 1880s, hydrological modification of the Greater Florida Everglades has reduced water levels and flows in Everglades National Park (ENP). The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Program (CERP) began in 2000 to restore pre-drainage flows and preserve the natural landscape of the Everglades. However, sea-level rise (SLR) was not considered in the development of CERP. We used long-term data (2001-2016) from the Florida Coastal Everglades-Long Term Ecological Research Program to quantify and model the spatial dynamics of water levels, salinity, and nutrients in response to changes in climate, freshwater management and SLR in the Shark River Slough (SRS), ENP. Results indicate that fresh-to-marine head difference (FMHD) was the single most important factor affecting marine-to-freshwater hydrologic connectivity and transport of salinity and phosphorous upstream from the Gulf of Mexico. Sea-level has increasingly exceeded ground surface elevation at the most downstream freshwater site in SRS, thereby reducing the FMHD. We showed a higher impact of SLR in the dry season when there was practically no freshwater inflow to raise FMHD. We also demonstrated effectiveness of inflow depends more on the monthly distribution than the total annual volume. Hence, the impact per unit volume of inflow is significantly higher in the dry season in preventing high salinity and marine-derived nutrient levels. We advocate that FMHD needs to be factored into water management decisions to reduce adverse and likely irreversible effects of SLR throughout the Everglades landscape.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shimelis B Dessu
- Southeast Environmental Research Center (SERC), Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA; Department of Earth and Environment, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA; Sea Level Solutions Center, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33139, USA.
| | - René M Price
- Southeast Environmental Research Center (SERC), Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA; Department of Earth and Environment, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA; Sea Level Solutions Center, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33139, USA
| | - Tiffany G Troxler
- Southeast Environmental Research Center (SERC), Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA; Sea Level Solutions Center, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33139, USA
| | - John S Kominoski
- Southeast Environmental Research Center (SERC), Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA; Sea Level Solutions Center, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33139, USA
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