Microcosms as Models for Generating and Testing Community Theory

Drake, James A.; Huxel, Gary R.; Hewitt, Chad L.

doi:10.2307/2265489

Cited by 147 publications

(100 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…A body of evidence from the analysis of introduced bird communities on oceanic islands suggests that a priority effect exists (Moulton 1993;Brooke et al 1995;Moulton et al 1996). The results of various computer models suggests that a priority effect is expected in saturated communities (Case 1990;Drake et al 1996), with the probability of successful invasion decreasing as a community becomes increasingly saturated. Community saturation theoretically occurs where all or most available niches are filled and all or most resources are optimally utilized.…”

Section: Community-related Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Investigations at the species-level have often produced conflicting predictions of invasion success (Kolar and Lodge 2001). Community-level investigations have placed biological invasions in the context of interactions among community members (Moulton and Pimm 1986) and have increased our understanding of invasions (Case 1990;Drake et al 1996). Deeper understanding of the factors leading to successful introductions and invasions may be enhanced by simultaneously examining the effect of intrinsic, community and landscape variables, because community membership is ultimately derived not only from species interactions, but also from the interactions of species with elements of the landscape that provide suitable habitat templates, available resources, and exploitable scales of resource distribution.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Predictors of Introduction Success in the South Florida Avifauna

Allen

2006

Biol Invasions

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Section: Community-related Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predictors of Introduction Success in the South Florida Avifauna

Allen

2006

Biol Invasions

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“…The pros and cons of microcosms (e.g., tanks) in experimental ecology have been thoroughly debated (Carpenter 1996;Drake et al 1996). While this debate has focused on the relevance of ''bottle'' experiments in community ecology (Peters 1991), the use of tank experiments in ecophysiological studies at the organism level has been less subject to reproach.…”

Section: Advantages and Disadvantages Of Studying Turbidity Effects Imentioning

confidence: 99%

A tank system for studying benthic aquatic organisms at predictable levels of turbidity and sedimentation: Case study examining coral growth

Anthony¹

1999

Limnology & Oceanography

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A tank system is described for long-term exposure of sessile organisms to well-defined ranges of particle loads on a background of natural flowing seawater. Using low technology and a simple mathematical model, the concentration of suspended particulate matter (SPM) and the rate of sedimentation could be predicted and sustained with high precision. The system and operational procedures were tested in an 8-week experiment investigating the effect of SPM concentrations on the growth rates of two species of symbiotic scleractinian coral (Goniastrea retiformis and Porites cylindrica). To also evaluate the effect of shading by SPM on coral growth, two light levels corresponding to 3-4-m depth at the low and high particle concentrations were included in the design. The growth rates of corals in control tanks were not significantly different from those of conspecifics in situ. However, the patterns of growth rates vs. SPM and shading treatments differed between species. The growth rates of G. retiformis generally increased as a function of SPM concentration (range ϭ ϳ1-16 mg L Ϫ1 ), whereas the growth rates of P. cylindrica were unaffected by particle load. The shading effects corresponding to 16 mg SPM L Ϫ1 at 3-4-m depth resulted in significantly reduced growth rates in both species. I hypothesize that the different growth patterns displayed by the two species are the results of different abilities to utilize SPM as a food source or different susceptibilities to SPM as a mechanical stress factor.The high level of environmental control and the constancy of SPM treatment levels were reflected in the absence of tank effects on growth rates and provided sufficient statistical power to detect relatively small differences in growth rates between corals from different treatments.

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“…This and the relatively small size of the individual treatment plots means that configurations can easily be replicated (Lawton 1995, Drake et al 1996, increasing the level of statistical power in the experimental design and the persuasiveness of findings. Related to this is reproducibility (Lawton 1995, Drake et al 1996, whereby starting conditions can be set up precisely and repeatedly with minimal variation. This high level of control over initial configurations means that specific factors, such as biodiversity, can be isolated and their role in ecosystem functioning can be assessed unambiguously.…”

Section: Model Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marine biodiversity and ecosystem function: empirical approaches and future research needs

Solan¹,

Raffaeli²,

Paterson³

et al. 2006

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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cipated future influence of anthropogenic forcing (Sala et al. 2000). In response to such anxiety, an unprecedented increase in research over the last decade or so has explicitly examined the proposition that a reduction in biodiversity will cause a decrease in the provision of ecosystem-level processes (reviewed in Hooper et al. 2005). The establishment of this line of inquiry is credited to the proceedings of a seminal conference that sought to formalize, for the first time, the association between biodiversity and ecosystem function (Schulze & Mooney 1993). Understanding the mechanisms that underpin this presumed causal relationship has since become one of the primary research goals in ecology (Hooper et al. 2005).Following the emergence of a novel paradigm, the road towards a new consensus is supported by a parallel progression of observational, experimental and theoretical evidence. These are the primary axes along which fundamental ecological principles are derived and, providing that the conclusions drawn from these alternative approaches merge, are the means by which inferences about cause-effect relationships can be validated. In the biodiversity-ecosystem function arena (hereafter BEF) the mainstay of research to date has almost exclusively been weighted towards ecological experimentation in terrestrial plant systems, although there have been a small number of notable contributions on the marine environment (e.g. compare citations in Hooper et al. 2005). Curiously, correlational evidence or anecdotal observations in support of BEF relationships are seldom cited on their own, or alongside new findings, and are generally viewed with skepticism, despite overwhelming support for the notion that biological diversity regulates ecosystem processes (Schläpfer et al. 1999). Yet the use of experimental systems is not without issue, nor do they provide a scientific panacea in the context of BEF related research. Experimental data generated from simple synthetic model communities in highly controlled systems (mesocosms) have been routinely criticized on many levels (for summary, see Mooney 2002).Whether or not the same mechanistic processes identified from synthetic laboratory experiments are equally valid and transferable to the real world (terrestrial and/or marine) remains an open question. Historical and cultural differences between specialists within ecology (Raffaelli et al. 2005) have meant that the marine community has often lagged behind their terrestrial counterparts; the BEF process has been no exception. Aquatic ecologists were less enthusiastic and initially failed to see the significance of BEF research, despite direct appeals for participation and the publication of methodologies that demonstrate how marine ecology could contribute to the BEF dialogue . One of the most significant barriers to interspecialist cohesion within the BEF community related to the treatment of biodiversity as an explanatory variable, rather than as the response variable, as had been common practice (e.g. Flint & Kalke 20...

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Microcosms as Models for Generating and Testing Community Theory

Cited by 147 publications

References 68 publications

Predictors of Introduction Success in the South Florida Avifauna

Predictors of Introduction Success in the South Florida Avifauna

A tank system for studying benthic aquatic organisms at predictable levels of turbidity and sedimentation: Case study examining coral growth

Marine biodiversity and ecosystem function: empirical approaches and future research needs

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