Impacts of multiple stressors on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning: the role of species co‐tolerance

Vinebrooke, Rolf D.; Cottingham, Kathryn L.; Norberg, Jon; Scheffer, Marten; Dodson, Stanley I.; Maberly, Stephen C.; Sommer, Ulrich

doi:10.1111/j.0030-1299.2004.13255.x

Cited by 638 publications

(616 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…B 283: 20152592 of interest [13]. For example, pollutants A and B might both be lethal to a vulnerable fraction of a focal population, but A acts more swiftly and removes all susceptible individuals such that B has no additional effect when both stressors act in concert [19]. Under the assumption of an additive or multiplicative null model, this situation would appear to be an antagonism (figure 1)-even though it is actually driven by a single stressor-which can have implications for conservation and management (see below).…”

Section: Interaction Typesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…B 283: 20152592 framework of co-tolerance [19] is a useful starting point. When tolerance to one stressor confers tolerance to another stressor, for example because both stressors act on the same physiological or ecological processes, then antagonisms might be expected when the stressors act in concert [19]. Vulnerable individuals or species are thus removed from a community, and replaced by more resistant individuals or species, which diminishes the combined impact of the stressors (e.g.…”

Section: Can We Predict Stressor Interaction Types?mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Interactions among ecosystem stressors and their importance in conservation

2016

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Interactions between multiple ecosystem stressors are expected to jeopardize biological processes, functions and biodiversity. The scientific community has declared stressor interactions-notably synergies-a key issue for conservation and management. Here, we review ecological literature over the past four decades to evaluate trends in the reporting of ecological interactions (synergies, antagonisms and additive effects) and highlight the implications and importance to conservation. Despite increasing popularity, and ever-finer terminologies, we find that synergies are (still) not the most prevalent type of interaction, and that conservation practitioners need to appreciate and manage for all interaction outcomes, including antagonistic and additive effects. However, it will not be possible to identify the effect of every interaction on every organism's physiology and every ecosystem function because the number of stressors, and their potential interactions, are growing rapidly. Predicting the type of interactions may be possible in the near-future, using meta-analyses, conservation-oriented experiments and adaptive monitoring. Pending a general framework for predicting interactions, conservation management should enact interventions that are robust to uncertainty in interaction type and that continue to bolster biological resilience in a stressful world.

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Section: Interaction Typesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Can We Predict Stressor Interaction Types?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactions among ecosystem stressors and their importance in conservation

2016

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“…One is that evolutionary responses in organismal physiology or life history may affect population dynamics and therefore ecological interactions, food web dynamics and ecosystem processes [1]. Another is that changes to global geochemical cycles affect multiple aspects of the environment simultaneously, and may interact with local environmental conditions [2,3]. Finally, indirect responses mediated through chains of food web interactions may overwhelm the direct effects on the physiology and demographics of organisms [4,5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Warming shifts top-down and bottom-up control of pond food web structure and function

Shurin

Clasen

Greig

et al. 2012

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

248

241

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The effects of global and local environmental changes are transmitted through networks of interacting organisms to shape the structure of communities and the dynamics of ecosystems. We tested the impact of elevated temperature on the top-down and bottom-up forces structuring experimental freshwater pond food webs in western Canada over 16 months. Experimental warming was crossed with treatments manipulating the presence of planktivorous fish and eutrophication through enhanced nutrient supply. We found that higher temperatures produced top-heavy food webs with lower biomass of benthic and pelagic producers, equivalent biomass of zooplankton, zoobenthos and pelagic bacteria, and more pelagic viruses. Eutrophication increased the biomass of all organisms studied, while fish had cascading positive effects on periphyton, phytoplankton and bacteria, and reduced biomass of invertebrates. Surprisingly, virus biomass was reduced in the presence of fish, suggesting the possibility for complex mechanisms of top-down control of the lytic cycle. Warming reduced the effects of eutrophication on periphyton, and magnified the already strong effects of fish on phytoplankton and bacteria. Warming, fish and nutrients all increased whole-system rates of net production despite their distinct impacts on the distribution of biomass between producers and consumers, plankton and benthos, and microbes and macrobes. Our results indicate that warming exerts a host of indirect effects on aquatic food webs mediated through shifts in the magnitudes of top-down and bottom-up forcing.

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“…Pulse (e.g., storms, hurricanes) or continuous (e.g., fishing, eutrophication) perturbations can overwhelm negative feedbacks, enabling positive feedbacks to dominate (Nyström et al, 2012). A major challenge for coastal researchers and managers is to understand the interactions among these multiple stressors (Vinebrooke et al, 2004). Climate change, inducing physical and ecological changes within coastal lagoons, forces both natural and human communities to adapt.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resilience and stability of Cymodocea nodosa seagrass meadows over the last four decades in a Mediterranean lagoon

Garrido¹,

Lafabrie²,

Torre³

et al. 2013

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

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a b s t r a c tUnderstanding what controls the capacity of a coastal lagoon ecosystem to recover following climatic and anthropogenic perturbations and how these perturbations can alter this capacity is critical to efficient environmental management. The goal of this study was to examine the resilience and stability of Cymodocea nodosa-dominated seagrass meadows in Urbino lagoon (Corsica, Mediterranean Sea) by characterizing the spatio-temporal dynamics of seagrass meadows over a 40-year period and comparing (anthropogenic and climatic) environmental fluctuations. The spatio-temporal evolution of seagrass meadows was investigated using previous maps (1973, 1979, 1990, 1994, 1996, 1999) and a 2011 map realized by aerial photographyeremote sensing combined with GIS technology. Environmental fluctuation was investigated via physical-chemical parameters (rainfall, water temperature, salinity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen) and human-impact changes (aquaculture, artificial channel). The results showed a severe decline (estimated at À49%) in seagrass meadows between 1973 and 1994 followed by a period of strong recovery (estimated to þ42%) between 1994 and 2011. Increased turbidity, induced either by rainfall events, dredging or phytoplankton growth, emerged as the most important driver of the spatiotemporal evolution of Cymodocea nodosa-dominated meadows in Urbino lagoon over the last four decades. Climate events associated to increased turbidity and reduced salinity and temperature could heavily impact seagrass dynamics. This study shows that Urbino lagoon, a system relatively untouched by human impact, shelters seagrass meadows that exhibit high resilience and stability.

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Impacts of multiple stressors on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning: the role of species co‐tolerance

Cited by 638 publications

References 59 publications

Interactions among ecosystem stressors and their importance in conservation

Interactions among ecosystem stressors and their importance in conservation

Warming shifts top-down and bottom-up control of pond food web structure and function

Resilience and stability of Cymodocea nodosa seagrass meadows over the last four decades in a Mediterranean lagoon

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