A network theory for resource exchange between rivers and their watersheds

Sabo, John L.; Hagen, Elizabeth M.

doi:10.1029/2011wr010703

Cited by 30 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 73 publications

(84 reference statements)

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“…After emergence, amphibians and aquatic insects are expected to be unevenly distributed in surrounding terrestrial landscapes, with the highest abundances likely to occur near the water (Sabo and Hagen 2012;Bartrons et al 2013;Muehlbauer et al 2014;Dreyer et al 2015). Our data from a set of 16 lakes in the Klamath Mountains confirmed this pattern -aquatic insect biomass was inversely proportional to distance from the lake shore, with a power law best describing the distribution (K.L.…”

Section: Amphibian and Aquatic Insect Emergence: Flux Estimates And Ssupporting

confidence: 65%

Variation in reciprocal subsidies between lakes and land: perspectives from the mountains of California

Piovia‐Scott

Sadro

Knapp³

et al. 2016

Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.

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Lakes are connected to surrounding terrestrial habitats by reciprocal flows of energy and nutrients. We synthesize data from California's mountain lake catchments to investigate how these reciprocal subsidies change along an elevational gradient and with the introduction of a top aquatic predator. At lower elevations, well-developed terrestrial vegetation provides relatively large inputs of organic material to lakes, whereas at higher elevations, the paucity of terrestrial vegetation provides minimal organic input but allows for higher inputs of inorganic nitrogen. There are also pronounced elevational patterns in amphibians and aquatic insects, which represent important vectors for resource flows from lakes back to land. The introduction of trout can reduce this lake-to-land resource transfer, as trout consume amphibians and aquatic insects. We propose a conceptual model in which within-lake processes influence terrestrial consumers at higher elevations, while terrestrial inputs govern within-lake processes at lower elevations. This model contributes to a more general understanding of the connections between aquatic and terrestrial habitats in complex landscapes.Résumé : Les lacs sont reliés aux habitats terrestres qui les entourent par des flux réciproques d'énergie et de nutriments. Nous mettons en rapport des données tirées de bassins versants de lacs de montagne en Californie pour étudier les variations de ces apports réciproques le long d'un gradient altitudinal et après l'introduction d'un prédateur aquatique de niveau trophique supérieur. À basse altitude, une végétation terrestre bien développée fournit de relativement grands apports de matière organique aux lacs, alors qu'à plus haute altitude, la rareté de la végétation terrestre fournit peu d'apports organiques, mais permet des apports d'azote inorganique plus importants. Des variations altitudinales marquées sont également observées chez les amphibiens et les insectes aquatiques, qui représentent d'importants vecteurs pour les flux de ressources des lacs vers la terre. L'introduction de truites peut réduire ce transfert de ressources des lacs vers la terre, puisque les truites consomment des amphibiens et des insectes aquatiques. Nous proposons un modèle conceptuel dans lequel les processus internes des lacs influencent les consommateurs terrestres à plus haute altitude, alors que les apports terrestres régissent les processus internes des lacs de plus basse altitude. Ce modèle participe à une compréhension plus générale des liens entre les habitats aquatiques et terrestres dans des paysages complexes. [Traduit par la Rédaction]

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Section: Amphibian and Aquatic Insect Emergence: Flux Estimates And Ssupporting

confidence: 65%

Variation in reciprocal subsidies between lakes and land: perspectives from the mountains of California

Piovia‐Scott

Sadro

Knapp³

et al. 2016

Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.

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“…These distances are within the range used to define the riparian zone of larger desert rivers in the study region (~10 m, Soykan et al, 2012), and the smaller size of our study streams should lead to a shorter range of stream subsidies reaching the terrestrial environment (Sabo & Hagen, 2012).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 71%

Dissimilarity in the riparian arthropod communities along surface water permanence gradients in aridland streams

Moody

Sabo

2017

Ecohydrology

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The riparian areas around streams and rivers are often thought of as distinct habitats with unique species. Research on riparian zones has traditionally focused on those bordering perennial waterways; thus, we know much less about riparian species supported by intermittent and ephemeral streams. As nonperennial streams make up the vast majority of stream channels in many landscapes, we aimed to investigate how surface water permanence affects riparian communities.We focus on riparian ground-dwelling arthropods, a group that often depends on resources derived from surface and/or ground water. We sampled riparian ground-dwelling arthropods along surface water permanence gradients in 3 replicated stream channels in southeastern Arizona to assess patterns in diversity and community similarity. We found that alpha diversity did not differ between reach types, but high species turnover led to significant community dissimilarity among perennial, intermittent, and ephemeral riparian zones. Further, intermittent and ephemeral riparian zones harbored more unique species not found at other reach types than did perennial reaches. These patterns were strongest during the dry season, when intermittent and ephemeral reaches are most likely to lack surface water. Our results suggest not only that the riparian zones of nonperennial streams host equivalent arthropod diversity to their perennial counterparts but also that these communities have little overlap with those at perennial reaches.As a result, intermittent and ephemeral stream channels should receive greater consideration than they currently do in efforts to conserve regional biodiversity.

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“…Our results build on recent modeling studies that explore insect fluxes between water and land (Sabo and Hagen 2012, Bartrons et al 2013, Muehlbauer et al 2014, specifically expanding on Gratton and Vander Zanden (2009) by using empirical estimates of the total amount of organisms produced in a waterbody. Because constraining terrestrial deposition by the total amount of aquatic insect emergence is a key feature of these approaches, accurate measurement of insect emergence provides the greatest payoff to improving estimates of terrestrial deposition of aquatic insects.…”

Section: Modeling Insect Deposition To Landmentioning

confidence: 90%

Quantifying aquatic insect deposition from lake to land

Dreyer

Townsend

Hook

et al. 2015

Ecology

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Adjacent ecosystems are influenced by organisms that move across boundaries, such as insects with aquatic larval stages and terrestrial adult stages, which transport energy and nutrients from water to land. However, the ecosystem-level effect of aquatic insects on land has generally been ignored, perhaps because the organisms themselves are individually small. At the naturally productive Lake Mývatn, Iceland, we used two readily measured quantities: total insect emergence from water and relative insect density on land, to demonstrate an approach for estimating aquatic insect deposition (e.g., kg N x m(-2) x yr(-1)) to shore. Estimates from emergence traps between 2008 and 20.11 indicated a range of 0.15-3.7 g x m(-2) x yr(-1), or a whole-lake emergence of 3.1-76 Mg/yr; all masses are given as dry mass. Using aerial infall trap measurements of midge relative abundance over land, we developed a local-maximum decay function model to predict proportional midge deposition with distance from the lake. The dispersal model predicted midge abundance with R2 = 0.89, a pattern consistent among years, with peak midge deposition occurring 20-25 m inland and 70% of midges deposited within 100 m of shore. During a high-midge year (2008), we estimate midge deposition within the first 50 m of shoreline to be 100 kg xha(-1) x yr(-1), corresponding to inputs of 10 kg N x ha(-1) x yr(-1) and 1 kg P x ha(-1) x yr(-1), or about three to five times above background terrestrial N deposition rates. Consistent with elevated N input where midges are most dense, we observed that soil available nitrate in resin bags decreases with increasing distance from the lake. Our approach, generalizable to other systems, shows that aquatic insects can be a major source of nutrients to terrestrial ecosystems and have the capacity to significantly affect ecosystem processes.

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A network theory for resource exchange between rivers and their watersheds

Cited by 30 publications

References 73 publications

Variation in reciprocal subsidies between lakes and land: perspectives from the mountains of California

Variation in reciprocal subsidies between lakes and land: perspectives from the mountains of California

Dissimilarity in the riparian arthropod communities along surface water permanence gradients in aridland streams

Quantifying aquatic insect deposition from lake to land

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