| 1. |
- Castillo, Luisa Eugenia, et al.
(författare)
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Water quality and macroinvertebrate community response following pesticide applications in a banana plantation, Limon, Costa Rica
- 2006
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Ingår i: Science of the Total Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 367:1, s. 418-432
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Pesticides used in banana production may enter watercourses and pose ecological risks for aquatic ecosystems. The occurrence and effects of pesticides in a stream draining a banana plantation was evaluated using chemical characterization, toxicity testing and macrobenthic community composition. All nematicides studied were detected in the surface waters of the banana plantation during application periods, with peak concentrations following applications. Toxicity tests were limited to the carbofuran application and no toxicity was observed with the acute tests used. However, since pesticide concentrations were generally below the lowest LC50 value for crustaceans but above calculated aquatic quality criteria, there remains a risk of chronic toxicity. Accurate ecological assessments of pesticide use in banana plantations are currently limited by the lack of local short-term chronic toxicity tests and tests using sensitive native species. Relatively constant levels of four pesticides (imazalil, thiabendazole, chlorpyrifos and propiconazole), which had toxic effects according to the 96h hydra and 21d daphnia chronic test, were recorded in the effluent of the packing plant throughout the study, indicating that the solid waste trap used in this facility was not effective in eliminating toxic chemicals. Certain taxa, such as Heterelmis sp. (Elmidae), Heteragrion sp. (Megapodagrionidae, Odonata), Caenis sp. (Caenidae, Ephemerotera), and Smicridea sp. (Hidropsychidae, Trichoptera), were more abundant at reference sites than in the banana farm waters, and may be good candidates for toxicity testing. Multivariate analyses of the macroinvertebrate communities clearly showed that the banana plantation sites were significantly different from the reference sites. Moreover, following the pesticide applications, all the banana plantation sites showed significant changes in community composition, with the same genera being affected at all sites and for all pesticides (terbufas, cadusafos and carbofuran). Consequently, the results presented here show that multivariate analysis of community composition was more sensitive in distinguishing pesticide effects than the toxicity tests and richness and composition measures used. We conclude that monitoring macroinvertebrate communities can be a powerful tool in the assessment of ecological effects of banana production.
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| 2. |
- Cheung, Henry Lok Shan, et al.
(författare)
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Denitrification, anammox, and DNRA in oligotrophic continental shelf sediments
- 2024
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Ingår i: Limnology and Oceanography. - 1939-5590 .- 0024-3590.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Continental shelf sediments are considered hotspots for nitrogen (N) removal. While most investigations have quantified denitrification in shelves receiving large amounts of anthropogenic nutrient supply, we lack insight into the key drivers of N removal on oligotrophic shelves. Here, we measured rates of N removal through denitrification and anammox by the revised-isotope pairing technique (r-IPT) along the Northeastern New Zealand shelf. Denitrification dominated total N2 production at depths between 30 and 128 m with average rates (± SE) ranging from 65 ± 28 to 284 ± 72 μmol N m−2 d−1. N2 production by anammox ranged from 3 ± 1 to 28 ± 11 μmol N m−2 d−1 and accounted for 2–19% of total N2 production. DNRA was negligible in these oligotrophic settings. Parallel microbial community analysis showed that both Proteobacteria and Planctomycetota were key taxa driving denitrification. Denitrification displayed a negative correlation with oxygen penetration depth, and a positive correlation with macrofauna abundance. Our denitrification rates were comparable to oligotrophic shelves from the Arctic, but were lower than those from nutrient-rich Pacific and Atlantic shelves. Based on our results and existing IPT measurements, the global shelf denitrification rate was reassessed to be 53.5 ± 8.1 Tg N yr−1, equivalent to 20 ± 2% of marine N removal. We suggest that previous estimates of global shelf N loss might have been overestimated due to sampling bias toward areas with high N loads in the Northern Hemisphere.
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| 3. |
- Karlson, Agnes M. L., et al.
(författare)
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Density of Key-Species Determines Efficiency of Macroalgae Detritus Uptake by Intertidal Benthic Communities
- 2016
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 11:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Accumulating evidence shows that increased biodiversity has a positive effect on ecosystem functioning, but the mechanisms that underpin this positive relationship are contentious. Complete extinctions of regional species pools are comparatively rare whereas compositional changes and reductions in abundance and biomass are common, although seldom the focus of biodiversity-ecosystem functioning studies. We use natural, small-scale patchiness in the density of two species of large bivalves with contrasting feeding modes (the suspension-feeding Austrovenus stutchburyi and deposit-feeding Macomona liliana) to examine their influence on the uptake of nitrogen from macroalgae detritus (i.e. measure of ecosystem function and food web efficiency) by other infauna in a 10-d laboratory isotope-tracer experiment. We predicted that densities of these key bivalve species and functional group diversity (calculated as Shannons H, a density-independent measure of community composition) of the intact infaunal community will be critical factors explaining variance in macroalgal per capita uptake rates by the community members and hence determine total uptake by the community. Results show that only two species, M. liliana and a large orbiniid polychaete (Scoloplos cylindrifer) dominated macroalgal nitrogen taken up by the whole community due to their large biomass. However, their densities were mostly not important or negatively influenced per capita uptake by other species. Instead, the density of a head-down deposit-feeder (the capitellid Heteromastus filiformis), scavengers (mainly nemertines and nereids) and species and functional group diversity, best explained per capita uptake rates in community members. Our results demonstrate the importance of species identity, density and large body size for ecosystem functioning and highlight the complex interactions underlying loss of ecological functions with declining biodiversity and compositional changes.
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| 4. |
- Karlson, Agnes M. L., et al.
(författare)
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Large Infaunal Bivalves Determine Community Uptake of Macroalgal Detritus and Food Web Pathways
- 2021
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Ingår i: Ecosystems (New York. Print). - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1432-9840 .- 1435-0629. ; :24, s. 384-402
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Human activities alter biodiversity, influencing bottom-up and top-down control on food webs which can affect ecosystem functioning. In marine ecosystems, large bivalves play a critical role in benthic-pelagic coupling including nutrient cycling; however, their influence on the uptake of detrital organic matter by benthic communities is less understood. In a replicated factorial field experiment, we examined how the presence or absence (overharvesting scenario) of a large suspension-feeding clam on an intertidal sandflat and the addition of isotopically enriched macroalgal (Ulva sp.) detritus (eutrophication scenario) influenced infaunal biodiversity, and how changes in trophic interactions influenced key ecosystem functions (nutrient cycling and benthic metabolism and primary production). Both clams and Ulva increased community metabolism, but only clams had an effect on nutrient regeneration. We used the C-13- and N-15-enriched Ulva to quantify the effect of clams on detritus uptake in fauna and recovery in sediment. Due to their large biomass, nitrogen incorporation by clams constituted one-third of the infaunal community uptake after 14 days. Clam uptake likely resulted from ingestion of resuspended microphytobentos which had utilized N-15 leaking out from decomposing Ulva. In plots without Ulva addition, the effect of clams on the overall resource utilization by the benthic community using natural abundance isotope niche metrics were tested. In plots without clams, the isotope niche of the community was reduced, and less carbon of pelagic origin was channelled into the infaunal food web. Our results imply that the loss of clams changes trophic pathways and reduces community uptake of macroalgal detritus, potentially exacerbating eutrophication.
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| 5. |
- Källberg Normark, Lydia, et al.
(författare)
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Isotopic niche size variability in an ecosystem engineer along a disturbance gradient in a South African lagoon
- 2022
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Ingår i: Marine Environmental Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0141-1136 .- 1879-0291. ; 173
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A key challenge for natural resource management is how to detect effects of environmental stress on individuals and populations before declines in abundance occur. Variability in carbon and nitrogen isotope composition (δ13C and δ15N) among consumers can provide information on the population trophic niche and how it may change in response to environmental stress. We measured δ13C and δ15N values in primary producers and in an ecosystem engineer, the bioturbating sandprawn Kraussillichirus kraussi, in Langebaan Lagoon, South Africa, along a human disturbance gradient. Diet partitioning mixing models were coupled with isotope niche analyses and individual body condition data to investigate shifts in resource utilisation and diet plasticity from minimally to highly disturbed sites. The δ15N values of seagrass, Zostera capensis indicated a nutrient gradient, with the highest δ15N values at highly disturbed sites indicating either anthropogenic or marine nitrogen inputs. A decreasing δ15N signal with distance from human disturbance/mouth of lagoon was however not evident for sandprawns nor their presumed dietary sources (phytoplankton, microphytobenthos or sediment organic matter), likely because of faster isotope turnover time compared to seagrass and/or differential fractionation for sandprawns among the sites. Sandprawn isotope niche sizes varied among sites, with no trend along the disturbance gradient. The smallest niche coincided with uniform feeding on microphytobenthos according to mixing models. On an individual level, deviating isotope values from population means were correlated to better body condition, suggesting that a divergent feeding strategy is beneficial. Our results support a generalist feeding behavior of the sandprawns with no evidence of reduced physiological status at the site with most human disturbance.
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| 6. |
- Savage, Candida, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of land use, urbanization, and climate variability on coastal eutrophication in the Baltic Sea
- 2010
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Ingår i: Limnology and Oceanography. - : Wiley. - 0024-3590 .- 1939-5590. ; 55:3, s. 1033-1046
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sedimentary records of organic matter inputs (stable nitrogen isotopes [delta N-15], nitrogen [N], and carbon [C] content), phytoplankton abundance (pigments, stable carbon isotopes [delta C-13]), and community composition (pigments) were used to reconstruct the history and pathway to water-quality degradation in a Swedish Baltic coastal bay. Changes in nutrient sources and cycling began in the 1800s, but eutrophication intensified only after the 1950s, coincident with intensified agricultural practices. Specifically, sedimentary N and C content doubled, delta 13C increased, and concentrations of pigments indicative of total algal biomass (beta-carotene, Chlorophyll a), diatoms (fucoxanthin, diatoxanthin), chlorophytes (lutein-zeaxanthin, Chlorophyll b), and cyanobacteria (canthaxanthin) increased significantly after 1950. Enhanced algal abundance was most strongly related to total N influx and secondly to total P influx. In particular, historical change in algae was related to agricultural N influx and only weakly to agricultural P. In recent decades, wastewater N influx has further stimulated algal biomass, particularly diatoms. In contrast, colonial cyanobacteria were more correlated to total P than total N inputs. Variance-partitioning analysis explained 60% of the changes in algal abundance and community composition since 1880, with diffuse and point nutrients jointly explaining 36% of the long-term change in algal biomass. Climate variability has become more important as a factor influencing coastal eutrophication in recent decades, explaining 14% of the variance in the algal data since 1975. Both urban and agricultural sources of nutrients have degraded water quality, illustrating the need for cooperation between stakeholders at regional levels to achieve ""good ecological status'' in the Baltic coastal environment.
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