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Noe, Gregory B.; Childers, Daniel L.; Edwards, Adreienne L.; Gaiser, Evelyn E.; Jayachandran, Krish; Lee, David W.; Meeder, John F.; Richards, Jennifer H.; Scinto, Leonard J.; Trexler, Joel C.; Jones, Ronald D.

doi:10.1023/a:1016090009874

Cited by 53 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…Organic-matter-rich floc is reincorporated in biota through its role as a basal source for the detrital food web (Belicka et al, 2012). Field experiments in oligotrophic wetlands reveal that floc stores much of the accumulated P compared to soil, periphyton, plants and surface water (Noe et al, 2002). Water-column TP did not demonstrate nutrient enrichment in pond or near-pond habitats, although some sites displayed orders of magnitude higher TP in ponds compared to marshes in the dry season.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although Everglades vascular plants are generally slow to respond to enrichment (Noe et al, 2002), some species were strongly associated with nutrient gradients. N:P ratios of the three most common plants tested across the gradient were higher in marshes than engineered habitats indicating slower growth rates (Vrede et al, 2004).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We collected water and flocculent detrital matter ('floc') in three different locations within each habitat and aggregated these into a single sample. Floc, the unconsolidated layer of particulate organic matter, and the underlying soil in the oligotrophic Everglades is derived from decaying periphyton and macrophytes (Noe et al, 2002). We measured carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus using dry combustion and colorimetric methods (Solórzano & Sharp, 1980).…”

Section: Water and Flocculent Detrital Mattermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Animals, including the alligators themselves, may transport nutrients and organic matter from the surrounding marsh and concentrate it in the pond. This enrichment may be significant, given that freshwater wetlands of the Everglades are sensitive to nutrient loading and respond rapidly to short‐term, low‐level P enrichment with noticeable differences in periphyton and flocculent detritus (Noe et al, 2002). Alligators are often cited as an example of ecosystem engineers through their activities creating ponds (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An apex predator engineers wetland food‐web heterogeneity through nutrient enrichment and habitat modification

Strickland

Flood

Kline³

et al. 2023

Journal of Animal Ecology

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The potential for animals to modify spatial patterns of nutrient limitation for autotrophs and habitat availability for other members of their communities is increasingly recognized. However, net trophic effects of consumers acting as ecosystem engineers remain poorly known. The American Alligator Alligator mississippiensis is an abundant predator capable of dramatic modifications of physical habitat through the creation and maintenance of pond‐like basins, but its role in influencing community structure and nutrient dynamics is less appreciated. We investigated if alligators engineer differences in nutrient availability and changes to community structure by their creation of ‘alligator ponds’ compared to the surrounding phosphorus (P)‐limited oligotrophic marsh. We used a halo sampling design of three distinct habitats extending outward from 10 active alligator ponds across a hydrological gradient in the Everglades, USA. We performed nutrient analysis on basal food‐web resources and quantitative community analyses, and stoichiometric analyses on plants and animals. Our findings demonstrate that alligators act as ecosystem engineers and enhance food‐web heterogeneity by increasing nutrient availability, manipulating physical structure and altering algal, plant and animal communities. Flocculent detritus, an unconsolidated layer of particulate organic matter and soil, showed strong patterns of P enrichment in ponds. Higher P availability in alligator ponds also resulted in bottom‐up trophic transfer of nutrients as evidenced by higher growth rates (lower N:P) for plants and aquatic consumers. Edge habitats surrounding alligator ponds contained the most diverse communities of invertebrates and plants, but low total abundance of fishes, likely driven by high densities of emergent macrophytes. Pond communities exhibited higher abundance of fish compared to edge habitat and were dominated by compositions of small invertebrates that track high nutrient availability in the water column. Marshes contained high numbers of animals that are closely tied to periphyton mats, which were absent from other habitats. Alligator‐engineered habitats are ecologically important by providing nutrient‐enriched ‘hotspots’ in an oligotrophic system, habitat heterogeneity to marshes, and refuges for other fauna during seasonal disturbances. This work adds to growing evidence that efforts to model community dynamics should routinely consider animal‐mediated bottom‐up processes like ecosystem engineering.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Water and Flocculent Detrital Mattermentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

An apex predator engineers wetland food‐web heterogeneity through nutrient enrichment and habitat modification

Strickland

Flood

Kline³

et al. 2023

Journal of Animal Ecology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Previous studies have highlighted the geochemical and biological pathways that can enhance the role of internal P loading in response to P enrichment. There are multiple mechanistic pathways of P legacies in wetlands, including growth-dependent P storage in photosynthetic communities (Newman et al 1996;Noe et al 2002;Gaiser 2009), redox-dependent P retention in flocculent sediments (Reddy et al 1999), redox-dependent microbial uptake (Newman & Reddy 1993), pH-mediated P release (Dierberg et al 2002), anoxia-promoted P release (Parsons et al 2017), macrophyte translocation of P from soil to water column (Noe & Childers 2007), and faunal regeneration of P from leaf litter or plankton to higher trophic levels (Schindler et al 1993;Hagerthey et al 2014). In P-limited ecosystems like the Everglades, P legacies can affect the storage and cycling of P even after nutrient inputs are reduced or removed (Childers et al 2019;Sarker et al 2020).…”

Section: Saltwater and P Legacies On Net Ecosystem Carbon Storagementioning

confidence: 99%

Saltwater and nutrient legacies reduce net ecosystem carbon storage despite freshwater restoration: insights from experimental wetlands

Lee

Kominoski

et al. 2021

Restoration Ecology

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Net ecosystem carbon balance is a comprehensive assessment of ecosystem function that can test restoration effectiveness. Coastal peatlands are globally important carbon sinks that are vulnerable to carbon loss with saltwater intrusion. It is uncertain how wetland carbon stocks and fluxes change during freshwater restoration following exposure to saltwater and elevated nutrients. We restored freshwater to sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense) peat monoliths from freshwater marshes of the Everglades (Florida, U.S.A.) that had previously been exposed to elevated salinity (approximately9 ppt) and phosphorus (P) loading (1 g P m À2 year À1 ) in wetland mesocosms. We quantified changes in water and soil physicochemistry, plant and soil carbon and nutrient standing stocks, and net ecosystem productivity during restoration. Added freshwater immediately reduced porewater salinity from >8 to approximately 2 ppt, but elevated porewater dissolved organic carbon persisted. Above-and belowground biomass, leaf P concentrations, and instantaneous rates of gross ecosystem productivity (GEP) and ecosystem respiration (ER) remained elevated from prior added P. Modeled monthly GEP and ER were higher in marshes with saltwater and P legacies, resulting in negative net ecosystem productivities that were up to 12Â lower than controls. Leaf litter breakdown rates and litter P concentrations were 2Â higher in marshes with legacies of added saltwater and P. Legacies of saltwater and P on carbon loss persisted despite freshwater restoration, but recovery was greatest for freshwater marshes exposed to saltwater alone. Our results suggest that restoration in nutrient-limited freshwater wetlands exposed to saltwater intrusion and nutrient enrichment is a slow process.

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Phosphorus alleviation of salinity stress: effects of saltwater intrusion on an Everglades freshwater peat marsh

Wilson

Servais

Charles

et al. 2019

Ecology

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Saltwater intrusion and salinization of coastal wetlands around the world are becoming a pressing issue due to sea level rise. Here, we assessed how a freshwater coastal wetland ecosystem responds to saltwater intrusion. In wetland mesocosms, we continuously exposed Cladium jamaicense Crantz (sawgrass) plants and their peat soil collected from a freshwater marsh to two factors associated with saltwater intrusion in karstic ecosystems: elevated loading of salinity and phosphorus (P) inputs. We took repeated measures using a 2 × 2 factorial experimental design (n = 6) with treatments composed of elevated salinity (~9 ppt), P loading (14.66 μmol P/d), or a combination of both. We measured changes in water physicochemistry, ecosystem productivity, and plant biomass change over two years to assess monthly and two‐year responses to saltwater intrusion. In the short‐term, plants exhibited positive growth responses with simulated saltwater intrusion (salinity + P), driven by increased P availability. Despite relatively high salinity levels for a freshwater marsh (~9 ppt), gross ecosystem productivity (GEP), net ecosystem productivity (NEP), and aboveground biomass were significantly higher in the elevated salinity + P treated monoliths compared to the freshwater controls. Salinity stress became evident after extended exposure. Although still higher than freshwater controls, GEP and NEP were significantly lower in the elevated salinity + P treatment than the +P treatment after two years. However, elevated salinity decreased live root biomass regardless of whether P was added. Our results suggest that saltwater intrusion into karstic freshwater wetlands may initially act as a subsidy by stimulating aboveground primary productivity of marsh plants. However, chronic exposure to elevated salinity results in plant stress, negatively impacting belowground peat soil structure and stability through a reduction in plant roots.

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Untitled

Cited by 53 publications

References 50 publications

An apex predator engineers wetland food‐web heterogeneity through nutrient enrichment and habitat modification

An apex predator engineers wetland food‐web heterogeneity through nutrient enrichment and habitat modification

Saltwater and nutrient legacies reduce net ecosystem carbon storage despite freshwater restoration: insights from experimental wetlands

Phosphorus alleviation of salinity stress: effects of saltwater intrusion on an Everglades freshwater peat marsh

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