Altered food-web dynamics under increased nitrogen load in phosphorus deficient lakes

Trommer, Gabriele; Poxleitner, Monika; Lorenz, Patrick; Bitzilekis, Eleftherios; Gogaladze, Aleksandre; Schultes, Sabine; Stibor, Herwig

doi:10.1007/s00027-017-0551-2

Cited by 5 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…Our second hypothesis included the assumption that impacts on zooplankton level, induced by the decreasing food quality of algae would cause a shift in zooplankton community composition. Due to their different stoichiometric constraints, we suggested that copepods would be favoured and cladocerans would be negatively affected by high DIN:DP conditions (Trommer et al, 2017). However, our results cannot completely confirm this hypothesis.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 59%

“…Due to their different stoichiometric constraints, we suggested that copepods would be favoured and cladocerans would be negatively affected by high DIN:DP conditions (Trommer et al, 2017). Due to their different stoichiometric constraints, we suggested that copepods would be favoured and cladocerans would be negatively affected by high DIN:DP conditions (Trommer et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…In contrast to phytoplankton, herbivorous zooplankton taxa require a relatively constant N:P ratio in diet (Sterner & Elser, 2002), and the range of adequate N:P ratios for sustainable growth appears to be narrow. This means that both the increasing DIN:DP ratios in lake water as well as the accompanying rising N:P ratios in algal food can induce stoichiometric constraints, first and foremost for Daphnia (Trommer et al, 2017) and other cladocerans. For example, cladocerans have N:P ratios between 12 and 18, whereas calanoid copepods have much higher N:P ratios of 30 and above (Andersen & Hessen, 1991;Carillo, Villar-Argaiz, & Medina-Sánchez, 2001;Hessen & Lyche, 1991).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, cladocerans have N:P ratios between 12 and 18, whereas calanoid copepods have much higher N:P ratios of 30 and above (Andersen & Hessen, 1991;Carillo, Villar-Argaiz, & Medina-Sánchez, 2001;Hessen & Lyche, 1991). This means that both the increasing DIN:DP ratios in lake water as well as the accompanying rising N:P ratios in algal food can induce stoichiometric constraints, first and foremost for Daphnia (Trommer et al, 2017) and other cladocerans.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impacts of increasing nitrogen:phosphorus ratios on zooplankton community composition and whitefish (Coregonus macrophthalmus) growth in a pre‐alpine lake

2019

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The combination of increasing atmospheric depositions of reactive nitrogen (N) and the highly effective diminishing of external phosphorus (P) loadings can change key nutrient ratios in lake ecosystems. Consequently, ratios of dissolved inorganic N (DIN) to dissolved P (DP) in lakes are increasing. However, potential consequences for aquatic organisms are as yet far from understood. We formulated three hypotheses on the potential effects of rising DIN:DP ratios on a lake food web: (1) increasing DIN:DP ratios intensify the P limitation of phytoplankton communities and lower their food quality; (2) densities of P rich zooplankters (e.g. cladocerans) will be negatively affected by P‐limited food algae; (3) as result, planktivorous fish will experience a reduction of their main prey (especially Daphnia species) and respond with lowered growth. These hypotheses were tested in a mesocosm experiment conducted in a pre‐alpine lake in southern Germany, Lake Brunnensee. For 76 days, the natural phytoplankton and zooplankton communities were exposed to a wide gradient of DIN:DP ratios. At the end of the experiment, juvenile planktivorous whitefish (Coregonus macrophthalmus) were released into the mesocosms and allowed to feed on zooplankton communities for 72 hr. Along the gradient of DIN:DP ratios, we found evidence for a rising P limitation of autotroph growth, which was indicated by increasing ratios of N:P (15:1–157:1) and C:P (91:1–797:1) in seston biomass. The rising P limitation in algae reduced the nutritional food quality for the majority of herbivorous zooplankton. Both the total zooplankton biomass and the Daphnia biomass declined substantially with increasing DIN:DP ratios. In contrast, increasing DIN:DP ratios favoured rotifer species, showing strong positive correlation with rotifer biomass. Whitefish weights decreased with increasing rotifer biomass and increased with rising Daphnia biomass in zooplankton communities. In summary, our results provide an experimental demonstration that increasing DIN:DP ratios can cause stoichiometric shifts in the biomass of primary producers towards higher N:P and C:P ratios. Effects on zooplankton were changes in the taxonomical community composition towards lower cladoceran biomass (mainly Daphnia spp.). The reduction in Daphnia biomass in turn caused significantly reduced growth rates of whitefish in our experiment. Our experimental results therefore support the assumption that stoichiometric effects can travel up the food chain. General consequences of such multi‐trophic effects induced by altered nutrient ratios could be potentially visible during re‐oligotrophication of water bodies, often resulting in high N:P ratios. Further empirical studies could look for signatures of these effects on the yield of economically important species.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 59%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impacts of increasing nitrogen:phosphorus ratios on zooplankton community composition and whitefish (Coregonus macrophthalmus) growth in a pre‐alpine lake

2019

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“…In the traditional context of ecological stoichiometry theory and nutrient limitation, attention has largely been focused on the general N:P supply ratio in ecosystems. The subject of N addition in N-excess systems has rarely been directly investigated (Poxleitner et al 2016;Trommer et al 2017;Lorenz et al 2019). Lakes are naturally co-limited by N and P, or are seasonally limited by either of the two nutrients (Elser et al 2007;Sterner et al 2008;Paerl et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses of lake phytoplankton communities to changing inorganic nitrogen supply forms

2020

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A shift has been predicted in future nitrogen emission scenarios from nitrous oxide to higher proportions of ammonium compounds. To investigate the interaction between increasing nitrogen load and varying nitrate:ammonium ratios (NO 3 − :NH 4 +), we performed a mesocosm experiment in an oligotrophic lake in southern Germany. We fertilized mesocosms with both roughly natural and four times the natural nitrogen wet deposition amounts in molar NO 3 − :NH 4 + ratios of 4:1 and 1:4. We observed greater phytoplankton biomass in treatments with a relatively higher ammonium supply, but not in those with nitrate and total nitrogen load. Ammonium significantly increased the total chlorophyll a concentrations, and especially the growth of small nanophytoplankton species. The effects observed indicate that NH 4 + was taken up preferentially and that spring phytoplankton in oligotrophic lakes appear to be able to respond to variations in nitrogen forms (available NO 3 − :NH 4 + ratios) by adjusting their community composition. Such communal changes at the base of the food web may affect higher trophic levels. Therefore, the effects of varying available forms of nitrogen should also be considered in primarily phosphoruslimited aquatic systems.

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Human Impact Induces Shifts in Trophic Composition and Diversity of Consumer Communities in Small Freshwater Ecosystems

Buzhdygan

Piperac

Stamenković

et al. 2021

Small Water Bodies of the Western Balkans

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The current global rates of human impact intensification in freshwater ecosystems and their surroundings have caused an alarming loss of freshwater biodiversity and functioning across multiple trophic levels. Particularly vulnerable to anthropogenic pressures are small water bodies (SWB). However, the majority of the evidence is limited to a single community, especially macroinvertebrates, thus leaving us uncertain about cross-community multitrophic responses of freshwater

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Altered food-web dynamics under increased nitrogen load in phosphorus deficient lakes

Cited by 5 publications

References 66 publications

Impacts of increasing nitrogen:phosphorus ratios on zooplankton community composition and whitefish (Coregonus macrophthalmus) growth in a pre‐alpine lake

Impacts of increasing nitrogen:phosphorus ratios on zooplankton community composition and whitefish (Coregonus macrophthalmus) growth in a pre‐alpine lake

Responses of lake phytoplankton communities to changing inorganic nitrogen supply forms

Human Impact Induces Shifts in Trophic Composition and Diversity of Consumer Communities in Small Freshwater Ecosystems

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