1. |
- Ahme, Antonia, et al.
(author)
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Warming increases the compositional and functional variability of a temperate protist community
- 2024
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In: Science of the Total Environment. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 926
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Phototrophic protists are a fundamental component of the world's oceans by serving as the primary source of energy, oxygen, and organic nutrients for the entire ecosystem. Due to the high thermal seasonality of their habitat, temperate protists could harbour many well-adapted species that tolerate ocean warming. However, these species may not sustain ecosystem functions equally well. To address these uncertainties, we conducted a 30-day mesocosm experiment to investigate how moderate (12 °C) and substantial (18 °C) warming compared to ambient conditions (6 °C) affect the composition (18S rRNA metabarcoding) and ecosystem functions (biomass, gross oxygen productivity, nutritional quality – C:N and C:P ratio) of a North Sea spring bloom community. Our results revealed warming-driven shifts in dominant protist groups, with haptophytes thriving at 12 °C and diatoms at 18 °C. Species responses primarily depended on the species' thermal traits, with indirect temperature effects on grazing being less relevant and phosphorus acting as a critical modulator. The species Phaeocystis globosa showed highest biomass on low phosphate concentrations and relatively increased in some replicates of both warming treatments. In line with this, the C:P ratio varied more with the presence of P. globosa than with temperature. Examining further ecosystem responses under warming, our study revealed lowered gross oxygen productivity but increased biomass accumulation whereas the C:N ratio remained unaltered. Although North Sea species exhibited resilience to elevated temperatures, a diminished functional similarity and heightened compositional variability indicate potential ecosystem repercussions for higher trophic levels. In conclusion, our research stresses the multifaceted nature of temperature effects on protist communities, emphasising the need for a holistic understanding that encompasses trait-based responses, indirect effects, and functional dynamics in the face of exacerbating temperature changes.
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2. |
- Arnott, Shelley E., et al.
(author)
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Widespread variation in salt tolerance within freshwater zooplankton species reduces the predictability of community-level salt tolerance
- 2023
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In: Limnology and Oceanography Letters. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2378-2242. ; 8:1, s. 8-18
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The salinization of freshwaters is a global threat to aquatic biodiversity. We quantified variation in chloride (Cl-) tolerance of 19 freshwater zooplankton species in four countries to answer three questions: (1) How much variation in Cl- tolerance is present among populations? (2) What factors predict intraspecific variation in Cl- tolerance? (3) Must we account for intraspecific variation to accurately predict community Cl- tolerance? We conducted field mesocosm experiments at 16 sites and compiled acute LC(50)s from published laboratory studies. We found high variation in LC(50)s for Cl- tolerance in multiple species, which, in the experiment, was only explained by zooplankton community composition. Variation in species-LC50 was high enough that at 45% of lakes, community response was not predictable based on species tolerances measured at other sites. This suggests that water quality guidelines should be based on multiple populations and communities to account for large intraspecific variation in Cl- tolerance.
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3. |
- Cunillera-Montcusí, David, et al.
(author)
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Freshwater salinisation : a research agenda for a saltier world
- 2022
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In: Trends in Ecology and Evolution. - : Elsevier BV. - 0169-5347 .- 1872-8383. ; 37:5, s. 440-453
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The widespread salinisation of freshwater ecosystems poses a major threat to the biodiversity, functioning, and services that they provide. Human activities promote freshwater salinisation through multiple drivers (e.g., agriculture, resource extraction, urbanisation) that are amplified by climate change. Due to its complexity, we are still far from fully understanding the ecological and evolutionary consequences of freshwater salinisation. Here, we assess current research gaps and present a research agenda to guide future studies. We identified different gaps in taxonomic groups, levels of biological organisation, and geographic regions. We suggest focusing on global- and landscape-scale processes, functional approaches, genetic and molecular levels, and eco-evolutionary dynamics as key future avenues to predict the consequences of freshwater salinisation for ecosystems and human societies.
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5. |
- Doi, Hideyuki, et al.
(author)
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Integrating elements and energy through the metabolic dependencies of gross growth efficiency and the threshold elemental ratio
- 2010
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In: Oikos. - : WILEY-BLACKWELL. - 0030-1299 .- 1600-0706. ; 119:5, s. 752-765
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Metabolic theory proposes that individual growth is governed through the mass- and temperature-dependence of metabolism, and ecological stoichiometry posits that growth is maximized at consumer-specific optima of resource elemental composition. A given consumer's optimum, the threshold elemental ratio (TER), is proportional to the ratio of its maximum elemental gross growth efficiencies (GGEs). GGE is defined by the ratio of metabolism-dependent processes such that GGEs should be independent of body mass and temperature. Understanding the metabolic-dependencies of GGEs and TERs may open the path towards a theoretical framework integrating the flow of energy and chemical elements through ecosystems. However, the mass and temperature scaling of GGEs and TERs have not been broadly evaluated. Here, we use data from 95 published studies to evaluate these metabolic-dependencies for C, N and P from unicells to vertebrates. We show that maximum GGEs commonly decline as power functions of asymptotic body mass and exponential functions of temperature. The rates of change in maximum GGEs with mass and temperature are relatively slow, however, suggesting that metabolism may not causally influence maximum GGEs. We additionally derived the theoretical expectation that the TER for C:P should not vary with body mass and this was supported empirically. A strong linear relationship between carbon and nitrogen GGEs further suggests that variation in the TER for C:N should be due to variation in consumer C:N. In general we show that GGEs may scale with metabolic rate, but it is unclear if there is a causal link between metabolism and GGEs. Further integrating stoichiometry and metabolism will provide better understanding of the processes governing the flow of energy and elements from organisms to ecosystems.
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6. |
- Gerhard, Miriam, et al.
(author)
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Environmental variability in aquatic ecosystems : Avenues for future multifactorial experiments
- 2023
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In: Limnology and Oceanography Letters. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2378-2242. ; 8:2, s. 247-266
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The relevance of considering environmental variability for understanding and predicting biological responses to environmental changes has resulted in a recent surge in variability-focused ecological research. However, integration of findings that emerge across studies and identification of remaining knowledge gaps in aquatic ecosystems remain critical. Here, we address these aspects by: (1) summarizing relevant terms of variability research including the components (characteristics) of variability and key interactions when considering multiple environmental factors; (2) identifying conceptual frameworks for understanding the consequences of environmental variability in single and multifactorial scenarios; (3) highlighting challenges for bridging theoretical and experimental studies involving transitioning from simple to more complex scenarios; (4) proposing improved approaches to overcome current mismatches between theoretical predictions and experimental observations; and (5) providing a guide for designing integrated experiments across multiple scales, degrees of control, and complexity in light of their specific strengths and limitations.
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7. |
- Hebert, Marie-Pier, et al.
(author)
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Lake salinization drives consistent losses of zooplankton abundance and diversity across coordinated mesocosm experiments
- 2023
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In: Limnology and Oceanography Letters. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2378-2242. ; 8:1, s. 19-29
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Human-induced salinization increasingly threatens inland waters; yet we know little about the multifaceted response of lake communities to salt contamination. By conducting a coordinated mesocosm experiment of lake salinization across 16 sites in North America and Europe, we quantified the response of zooplankton abundance and (taxonomic and functional) community structure to a broad gradient of environmentally relevant chloride concentrations, ranging from 4 to ca. 1400 mg Cl- L-1. We found that crustaceans were distinctly more sensitive to elevated chloride than rotifers; yet, rotifers did not show compensatory abundance increases in response to crustacean declines. For crustaceans, our among-site comparisons indicate: (1) highly consistent decreases in abundance and taxon richness with salinity; (2) widespread chloride sensitivity across major taxonomic groups (Cladocera, Cyclopoida, and Calanoida); and (3) weaker loss of functional than taxonomic diversity. Overall, our study demonstrates that aggregate properties of zooplankton communities can be adversely affected at chloride concentrations relevant to anthropogenic salinization in lakes.
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8. |
- Hillebrand, Helmut, et al.
(author)
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Decomposing multiple dimensions of stability in global change experiments
- 2018
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In: Ecology Letters. - : Wiley. - 1461-023X .- 1461-0248. ; 21:1, s. 21-30
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Ecological stability is the central framework to understand an ecosystem's ability to absorb or recover from environmental change. Recent modelling and conceptual work suggests that stability is a multidimensional construct comprising different response aspects. Using two freshwater mesocosm experiments as case studies, we show how the response to single perturbations can be decomposed in different stability aspects (resistance, resilience, recovery, temporal stability) for both ecosystem functions and community composition. We find that extended community recovery is tightly connected to a nearly complete recovery of the function (biomass production), whereas systems with incomplete recovery of the species composition ranged widely in their biomass compared to controls. Moreover, recovery was most complete when either resistance or resilience was high, the latter associated with low temporal stability around the recovery trend. In summary, no single aspect of stability was sufficient to reflect the overall stability of the system.
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9. |
- Hintz, William D., et al.
(author)
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Current water quality guidelines across North America and Europe do not protect lakes from salinization
- 2022
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In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 119:9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Human-induced salinization caused by the use of road deicing salts, agricultural practices, mining operations, and climate change is a major threat to the biodiversity and functioning of freshwater ecosystems. Yet, it is unclear if freshwater ecosystems are protected from salinization by current water quality guidelines. Leveraging an experimental network of land-based and in-lake mesocosms across North America and Europe, we tested how salinization—indicated as elevated chloride (Cl−) concentration—will affect lake food webs and if two of the lowest Cl− thresholds found globally are sufficient to protect these food webs. Our results indicated that salinization will cause substantial zooplankton mortality at the lowest Cl− thresholds established in Canada (120 mg Cl−/L) and the United States (230 mg Cl−/L) and throughout Europe where Cl− thresholds are generally higher. For instance, at 73% of our study sites, Cl− concentrations that caused a ≥50% reduction in cladoceran abundance were at or below Cl− thresholds in Canada, in the United States, and throughout Europe. Similar trends occurred for copepod and rotifer zooplankton. The loss of zooplankton triggered a cascading effect causing an increase in phytoplankton biomass at 47% of study sites. Such changes in lake food webs could alter nutrient cycling and water clarity and trigger declines in fish production. Current Cl− thresholds across North America and Europe clearly do not adequately protect lake food webs. Water quality guidelines should be developed where they do not exist, and there is an urgent need to reassess existing guidelines to protect lake ecosystems from human-induced salinization.
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10. |
- Stolle, Christian, et al.
(author)
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The MILAN Campaign : Studying Diel Light Effects on the Air–Sea Interface
- 2020
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In: Bulletin of The American Meteorological Society - (BAMS). - 0003-0007 .- 1520-0477. ; 101:2, s. E146-E166
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The sea surface microlayer (SML) at the air–sea interface is <1 mm thick, but it is physically, chemically, and biologically distinct from the underlying water and the atmosphere above. Wind-driven turbulence and solar radiation are important drivers of SML physical and biogeochemical properties. Given that the SML is involved in all air–sea exchanges of mass and energy, its response to solar radiation, especially in relation to how it regulates the air–sea exchange of climate-relevant gases and aerosols, is surprisingly poorly characterized. MILAN (Sea Surface Microlayer at Night) was an international, multidisciplinary campaign designed to specifically address this issue. In spring 2017, we deployed diverse sampling platforms (research vessels, radio-controlled catamaran, free-drifting buoy) to study full diel cycles in the coastal North Sea SML and in underlying water, and installed a land-based aerosol sampler. We also carried out concurrent ex situ experiments using several microsensors, a laboratory gas exchange tank, a solar simulator, and a sea spray simulation chamber. In this paper we outline the diversity of approaches employed and some initial results obtained during MILAN. Our observations of diel SML variability show, for example, an influence of (i) changing solar radiation on the quantity and quality of organic material and (ii) diel changes in wind intensity primarily forcing air–sea CO2 exchange. Thus, MILAN underlines the value and the need of multidiciplinary campaigns for integrating SML complexity into the context of air–sea interaction.
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11. |
- Urrutia-Cordero, Pablo, et al.
(author)
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Functionally reversible impacts of disturbances on lake food webs linked to spatial and seasonal dependencies
- 2021
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In: Ecology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0012-9658 .- 1939-9170. ; 102:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Increasing human impact on the environment is causing drastic changes in disturbance regimes and how they prevail over time. Of increasing relevance is to further our understanding on biological responses to pulse disturbances (short duration) and how they interact with other ongoing press disturbances (constantly present). Because the temporal and spatial contexts of single experiments often limit our ability to generalize results across space and time, we conducted a modularized mesocosm experiment replicated in space (five lakes along a latitudinal gradient in Scandinavia) and time (two seasons, spring and summer) to generate general predictions on how the functioning and composition of multitrophic plankton communities (zoo-, phyto- and bacterioplankton) respond to pulse disturbances acting either in isolation or combined with press disturbances. As pulse disturbance, we used short-term changes in fish presence, and as press disturbance, we addressed the ongoing reduction in light availability caused by increased cloudiness and lake browning in many boreal and subarctic lakes. First, our results show that the top-down pulse disturbance had the strongest effects on both functioning and composition of the three trophic levels across sites and seasons, with signs for interactive impacts with the bottom-up press disturbance on phytoplankton communities. Second, community composition responses to disturbances were highly divergent between lakes and seasons: temporal accumulated community turnover of the same trophic level either increased (destabilization) or decreased (stabilization) in response to the disturbances compared to control conditions. Third, we found functional recovery from the pulse disturbances to be frequent at the end of most experiments. In a broader context, these results demonstrate that top-down, pulse disturbances, either alone or with additional constant stress upon primary producers caused by bottom-up disturbances, can induce profound but often functionally reversible changes across multiple trophic levels, which are strongly linked to spatial and temporal context dependencies. Furthermore, the identified dichotomy of disturbance effects on the turnover in community composition demonstrates the potential of disturbances to either stabilize or destabilize biodiversity patterns over time across a wide range of environmental conditions.
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12. |
- Urrutia Cordero, Pablo, et al.
(author)
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Integrating multiple dimensions of ecological stability into a vulnerability framework
- 2022
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In: Journal of Ecology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0022-0477 .- 1365-2745. ; 110:2, s. 374-386
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Ecological stability encompasses multiple dimensions of functional and compositional responses to environmental change. Though no single stability dimension used in isolation can fully reflect the overall response to environmental change, a common vulnerability assessment that integrates simultaneously across multiple stability components is highly desirable for ecological risk assessment. We develop both functional and compositional counterparts of a novel, integrative metric of overall ecological vulnerability (OEV). We test the framework with data from a modularized experiment replicated in five lakes over two seasons, examining functional and compositional responses to both pulse and press disturbances across three trophic groups. OEV is measured as the area under the curve integrated over the entire observation period, with the curve delimiting the difference between the disturbance treatment and undisturbed parallel controls, expressed either as the log response ratio of biomass (functional OEV) or community dissimilarity index (compositional OEV). Both, functional and compositional OEV correlated negatively with functional and compositional 'resistance', 'temporal stability' and 'final/extent of recovery' following both pulse and press disturbances, though less so with 'resilience' following a pulse disturbance. We also found a positive correlation between functional and compositional OEV, which reveals the potential to also evaluate the intricate linkage between biodiversity and functional change. Our findings demonstrate that OEV comprises a robust framework to: (a) capture simultaneously multiple functional and compositional stability components, and (b) quantify the functional consequences of biodiversity change. Our results provide the basis for an overarching framework for quantifying the overall vulnerability of ecosystems to environmental change, opening new possibilities for ecological risk assessment and management. Synthesis. Ecological stability comprises multiple dimensions that together encapsulate how ecosystems respond to environmental change. Considering these multiple aspects of stability simultaneously often poses a problem in environmental assessments, which frequently require overarching indicators of risk or vulnerability. While an analysis of multiple dimensions allows for deeper exploration of mechanisms, here we develop and test a new univariate indicator that integrates stability aspects under a broad range of disturbance regimes. Using a modularized experiment in Swedish lakes, we show that this integrative measure captures multiple stability dimensions reflecting compositional and functional vulnerability and their relationships between them.
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