Leaf quality influences invertebrate colonization and drift in a temperate rainforest stream

2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (10) ◽  
pp. 1663-1673 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liliana García ◽  
John S. Richardson ◽  
Isabel Pardo
Keyword(s):  
Riparian Forest ◽  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Forest Composition ◽  
Invertebrate Drift ◽  
Temperate Rainforest ◽  
Leaf Quality ◽  
Breakdown Rates ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Leaf Bags

Changes in riparian forest composition and diversity, such as plantations of exotic species, may alter resource quality, detritivore assemblages, and litter breakdown rates in streams. We hypothesized that different litter resources may influence colonization and drift of invertebrates inhabiting small, temperate rainforest streams in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Leaves of different quality and origin were incubated in stream-side channels to test this hypothesis. The sequence of leaf decomposition rates was as follows: alder > alder + cedar > cedar ≥ eucalyptus. Cedar litter decayed faster when mixed with alder than when alone. Invertebrates colonizing leaf bags were predominantly collector–gatherers and shredders, particularly on alder leaves. Drift density varied over the incubation period and seemed to be controlled by leaf quality, since there were more individuals drifting from channels with alder leaves than from channels with cedar or eucalyptus. However, we observed different species-specific invertebrate responses controlled by leaf traits, particularly by numerically dominant chironomid species. Indeed, invertebrate drift from channels incubated with alder bags was mostly due to pupation and emergence of orthoclad midges, whereas this was not observed in the other channels. This differential response in colonization and drift has the potential to modify the transfer rates of organic matter to higher trophic levels and thus ecosystem functioning.

scholarly journals Variability in nitrogen-derived trophic levels of Arctic marine biota

Polar Biology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renske P. J. Hoondert ◽  
Nico W. van den Brink ◽  
Martine J. van den Heuvel-Greve ◽  
Ad M. J. Ragas ◽  
A. Jan Hendriks
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotopes ◽  
Enrichment Factors ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Marine Biota ◽  
Arctic Ecosystems ◽  
Arctic Species ◽  
Single Region ◽  
Benthic Food ◽  
Species Specific

AbstractStable isotopes are often used to provide an indication of the trophic level (TL) of species. TLs may be derived by using food-web-specific enrichment factors in combination with a representative baseline species. It is challenging to sample stable isotopes for all species, regions and seasons in Arctic ecosystems, e.g. because of practical constraints. Species-specific TLs derived from a single region may be used as a proxy for TLs for the Arctic as a whole. However, its suitability is hampered by incomplete knowledge on the variation in TLs. We quantified variation in TLs of Arctic species by collating data on stable isotopes across the Arctic, including corresponding fractionation factors and baseline species. These were used to generate TL distributions for species in both pelagic and benthic food webs for four Arctic areas, which were then used to determine intra-sample, intra-study, intra-region and inter-region variation in TLs. Considerable variation in TLs of species between areas was observed. This is likely due to differences in parameter choice in estimating TLs (e.g. choice of baseline species) and seasonal, temporal and spatial influences. TLs between regions were higher than the variance observed within regions, studies or samples. This implies that TLs derived within one region may not be suitable as a proxy for the Arctic as a whole. The TL distributions derived in this study may be useful in bioaccumulation and climate change studies, as these provide insight in the variability of trophic levels of Arctic species.

Root, shoot and leaf traits of the congeneric Styrax species may explain their distribution patterns in the cerrado sensu lato areas in Brazil

2011 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustavo Habermann ◽  
Anna C. G. Bressan
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Area ◽  
Riparian Forest ◽  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Co2 Assimilation ◽  
Sensu Stricto ◽  
Shoot Length ◽  
Deep Roots ◽  
Number Of Leaves ◽  
Forest Habitats

Shoot and root lengths, the number of leaves, biomass and leaf area were measured in Styrax ferrugineus Nees and Mart., Styrax camporum Pohl. and Styrax pohlii A. DC cultivated in rhizotrons. Additionally, young individuals of these species were planted in a cerrado sensu stricto (s. str.), at the edge and in the understorey of a cerradão, and in the understorey of a riparian forest. Six months after planting, the specific leaf area (SLA) and the CO2 assimilation rate were assessed on an area (Aarea) and mass (Amass) basis. S. ferrugineus exhibited greater root and lower shoot length in comparison to S. pohlii. The high shoot growth and concomitantly substantial root length of S. camporum may illustrate why this species is widely distributed in the cerrado sensu lato areas, whereas the deep roots of S. ferrugineus could account for its occurrence in the cerrado s. str. In the field, an irradiance-diminishing gradient enlarged the SLA of S. pohlii, which positively influenced its Amass, and which could partially explain its occurrence in shady habitats. However, a non-plastic trait, such as the high shoot length of S. pohlii, is more likely to be responsible for the success of this species in forest habitats.

scholarly journals Species-specific effects of passive warming in an Antarctic moss system

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (11) ◽  
pp. 190744 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah M. Prather ◽  
Angélica Casanova-Katny ◽  
Andrew F. Clements ◽  
Matthew W. Chmielewski ◽  
Mehmet A. Balkan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Fungal Biomass ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Moss Species ◽  
Abiotic Environment ◽  
Invertebrate Communities ◽  
Passive Warming ◽  
Specific Effects ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Antarctic Moss

Polar systems are experiencing rapid climate change and the high sensitivity of these Arctic and Antarctic ecosystems make them especially vulnerable to accelerated ecological transformation. In Antarctica, warming results in a mosaic of ice-free terrestrial habitats dominated by a diverse assemblage of cryptogamic plants (i.e. mosses and lichens). Although these plants provide key habitat for a wide array of microorganisms and invertebrates, we have little understanding of the interaction between trophic levels in this terrestrial ecosystem and whether there are functional effects of plant species on higher trophic levels that may alter with warming. Here, we used open top chambers on Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, Antarctica, to examine the effects of passive warming and moss species on the abiotic environment and ultimately on higher trophic levels. For the dominant mosses, Polytrichastrum alpinum and Sanionia georgicouncinata , we found species-specific effects on the abiotic environment, including moss canopy temperature and soil moisture. In addition, we found distinct shifts in sexual expression in P . alpinum plants under warming compared to mosses without warming, and invertebrate communities in this moss species were strongly correlated with plant reproduction. Mosses under warming had substantially larger total invertebrate communities, and some invertebrate taxa were influenced differentially by moss species. However, warmed moss plants showed lower fungal biomass than control moss plants, and fungal biomass differed between moss species. Our results indicate that continued warming may impact the reproductive output of Antarctic moss species, potentially altering terrestrial ecosystems dynamics from the bottom up. Understanding these effects requires clarifying the foundational, mechanistic role that individual plant species play in mediating complex interactions in Antarctica's terrestrial food webs.

scholarly journals New handbook for standardised measurement of plant functional traits worldwide

2013 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 167 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Pérez-Harguindeguy ◽  
S. Díaz ◽  
E. Garnier ◽  
S. Lavorel ◽  
H. Poorter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Traits ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Plant Traits ◽  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Plant Functional Traits ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Evolutionary Patterns ◽  
Ecosystem Properties ◽  
Species Invasions ◽  
Wide Range

Plant functional traits are the features (morphological, physiological, phenological) that represent ecological strategies and determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels and influence ecosystem properties. Variation in plant functional traits, and trait syndromes, has proven useful for tackling many important ecological questions at a range of scales, giving rise to a demand for standardised ways to measure ecologically meaningful plant traits. This line of research has been among the most fruitful avenues for understanding ecological and evolutionary patterns and processes. It also has the potential both to build a predictive set of local, regional and global relationships between plants and environment and to quantify a wide range of natural and human-driven processes, including changes in biodiversity, the impacts of species invasions, alterations in biogeochemical processes and vegetation–atmosphere interactions. The importance of these topics dictates the urgent need for more and better data, and increases the value of standardised protocols for quantifying trait variation of different species, in particular for traits with power to predict plant- and ecosystem-level processes, and for traits that can be measured relatively easily. Updated and expanded from the widely used previous version, this handbook retains the focus on clearly presented, widely applicable, step-by-step recipes, with a minimum of text on theory, and not only includes updated methods for the traits previously covered, but also introduces many new protocols for further traits. This new handbook has a better balance between whole-plant traits, leaf traits, root and stem traits and regenerative traits, and puts particular emphasis on traits important for predicting species’ effects on key ecosystem properties. We hope this new handbook becomes a standard companion in local and global efforts to learn about the responses and impacts of different plant species with respect to environmental changes in the present, past and future.

scholarly journals Species-Specific Effects on Throughfall Kinetic Energy in Subtropical Forest Plantations Are Related to Leaf Traits and Tree Architecture

PLoS ONE ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. e0128084 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp Goebes ◽  
Helge Bruelheide ◽  
Werner Härdtle ◽  
Wenzel Kröber ◽  
Peter Kühn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Subtropical Forest ◽  
Tree Architecture ◽  
Forest Plantations ◽  
Specific Effects ◽  
Species Specific

scholarly journals The biggest losers: habitat isolation deconstructs complex food webs from top to bottom

2019 ◽  
Vol 286 (1908) ◽  
pp. 20191177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Remo Ryser ◽  
Johanna Häussler ◽  
Markus Stark ◽  
Ulrich Brose ◽  
Björn C. Rall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Diversity ◽  
Habitat Fragmentation ◽  
Food Web ◽  
Food Webs ◽  
Spatial Dynamics ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Habitat Isolation ◽  
Fragmented Landscapes ◽  
Energy Limitation ◽  
Species Specific

Habitat fragmentation threatens global biodiversity. To date, there is only limited understanding of how the different aspects of habitat fragmentation (habitat loss, number of fragments and isolation) affect species diversity within complex ecological networks such as food webs. Here, we present a dynamic and spatially explicit food web model which integrates complex food web dynamics at the local scale and species-specific dispersal dynamics at the landscape scale, allowing us to study the interplay of local and spatial processes in metacommunities. We here explore how the number of habitat patches, i.e. the number of fragments, and an increase of habitat isolation affect the species diversity patterns of complex food webs ( α -, β -, γ -diversities). We specifically test whether there is a trophic dependency in the effect of these two factors on species diversity. In our model, habitat isolation is the main driver causing species loss and diversity decline. Our results emphasize that large-bodied consumer species at high trophic positions go extinct faster than smaller species at lower trophic levels, despite being superior dispersers that connect fragmented landscapes better. We attribute the loss of top species to a combined effect of higher biomass loss during dispersal with increasing habitat isolation in general, and the associated energy limitation in highly fragmented landscapes, preventing higher trophic levels to persist. To maintain trophic-complex and species-rich communities calls for effective conservation planning which considers the interdependence of trophic and spatial dynamics as well as the spatial context of a landscape and its energy availability.

scholarly journals The acoustic multifrequency classification of two sympatric euphausiid species (Meganyctiphanes norvegica and Thysanoessa raschii), with empirical and SDWBA model validation

2013 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 636-649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian H. McQuinn ◽  
Maxime Dion ◽  
Jean-François St. Pierre
Keyword(s):  
Model Validation ◽  
Fishery Management ◽  
Noise Removal ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Angle Distribution ◽  
Acoustic Frequency ◽  
Frequency Responses ◽  
Meganyctiphanes Norvegica ◽  
Species Specific

Abstract McQuinn, I. H., Dion, M., and St. Pierre, J.-F. 2013. The acoustic multifrequency classification of two sympatric euphausiid species (Meganyctiphanes norvegica and Thysanoessa raschii), with empirical and SDWBA model validation. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 70: 636–649. The ecosystem approach to fishery management requires monitoring capabilities at all trophic levels, including pelagic organisms. However, the usefulness of active acoustics for ecosystem monitoring has been limited by ambiguities in the identification of scattering layers. Increasingly, multifrequency acoustic methods are being developed for the classification of scattering layers into species or species groups. We describe a method for distinguishing between sympatric northern and Arctic krill (Meganyctiphanes norvegica and Thysanoessa raschii) using sv amplitude ratios from 38, 120, and 200 kHz data which were pre-processed through a self-noise removal algorithm. Acoustic frequency responses of both euphausiid species were predicted from species-specific parameterizations of a SDWBA physical model using specific body forms (shape, volume, and length) for Arctic and northern krill. Classification and model validation were achieved using macrozooplankton samples collected from multiple-sampler (BIONESS) and ringnet (JackNet) hauls, both equipped with a strobe light to reduce avoidance by euphausiids. SDWBA frequency responses were calculated for a range of orientations (± 45°) and compared with observed frequency responses, solving for orientation by least squares. A tilt angle distribution of N[9°,4°] and N[12°,6°] for T. raschii and M. norvegica, respectively resulted in best fits. The models also provided species-specific TS–length relationships.

Distribution of arsenic species in an open seagrass ecosystem: relationship to trophic groups, habitats and feeding zones

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 77 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Price ◽  
W. Maher ◽  
J. Kirby ◽  
F. Krikowa ◽  
E. Duncan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Inorganic Arsenic ◽  
Arsenic Species ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Arsenic Content ◽  
Trophic Groups ◽  
Marine Systems ◽  
Seagrass Ecosystem ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Arsenic Source

Environmental contextAlthough arsenic occurs at high concentrations in many marine systems, the influencing factors are poorly understood. The arsenic content of sediments, detritus, suspended particles and organisms have been investigated from different trophic levels in an open seagrass ecosystem. Total arsenic concentrations and arsenic species were organism-specific and determined by a variety of factors including exposure, diet and the organism physiology. AbstractThe distribution and speciation of arsenic within an open marine seagrass ecosystem in Lake Macquarie, NSW, Australia is described. Twenty-six estuarine species were collected from five trophic groups (autotrophs, suspension-feeders, herbivores, detritivores and omnivores, and carnivores). Sediment, detritus, epibiota and micro-invertebrates were also collected and were classified as arsenic source samples. There were no significant differences in arsenic concentrations between trophic groups and between pelagic and benthic feeders. Benthic-dwelling species generally contained higher arsenic concentrations than pelagic-dwelling species. Sediments, seagrass blades and detritus contained mostly inorganic arsenic (50–90 %) and arsenoribosides (10–26 %), with some methylarsonate (9.4–14.6 %) and dimethyarsinate (7.9–9.7 %) in seagrass blades and detritus. Macroalgae contained mostly arsenoribosides (40–100 %). Epibiota and other animals contained predominately arsenobetaine (63–100 %) and varying amounts of dimethyarsinate (0–26 %), monomethyarsonate (0–14.6 %), inorganic arsenic (0–2 %), trimethylarsenic oxide (0–6.6 %), arsenocholine (0–12 %) and tetramethylarsonium ion (0–4.5 %). It was concluded that arsenic concentrations and species within the organisms of the Lake Macquarie ecosystem are species-specific and determined by a variety of factors including exposure, diet and the physiology of the organisms.

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