Use of size spectra and empirical models to evaluate trophic relationships in streams

Morin, Antoine; Bourassa, Nathalie; Cattaneo, Antonella

doi:10.4319/lo.2001.46.4.0935

Cited by 15 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Thus, this negative relationship could be a consequence of a decrease in size diversity with productivity. Similar relationships between size distribution and nutrient availability have also been reported in stream benthic communities (Morin et al 2001). According to this work, sites with high nutrient availability show a similar range of sizes but with a higher dominance of a few sizes (that is, with a low size diversity).…”

Section: Importance Of Biotic Interactions and Abiotic Factorssupporting

confidence: 51%

Patterns in size and species diversity of benthic macroinvertebrates in Mediterrannean salt marshes

Gascón¹,

Boix²,

Sala³

et al. 2009

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Mediterranean salt marsh macroinvertebrate assemblages are abiotically filtered due to harsh environmental conditions. We hypothesized that in these environmentally fluctuating systems, biotic interactions would have more relevance than abiotic ones and that size-based interactions would dominate. The manuscript focuses on the response to biotic and abiotic factors of 2 diversity metrics: (1) one that relies on species identity (Shannon-Wiener diversity), and (2) another based on the shape of biomass size spectra (size diversity). Benthic macroinvertebrates (organisms >1 mm) were the target group of this study and were sampled monthly in 6 basins during 2 flooding cycles (from October 1997 to July 1999). The high inter-annual variability characteristic of Mediterranean systems revealed the robustness of the observed patterns. Abiotic and biotic interactions appeared to be significant for both diversity metrics, with species diversity more abiotically controlled than size diversity. The relationships between size diversity and environmental variables were more interannually stable than those for species diversity. Only water total organic carbon had a robust relationship with species diversity, but dissolved inorganic nitrogen and predatory pressure had a robust relationship with size diversity. Additionally, size diversity had a significant succession pattern related to days after flooding (time), whereas species diversity did not. Our results suggest that in abiotically filtered environments, macroinvertebrate size-based interactions become especially relevant.KEY WORDS: Biomass size spectra · Biotic factors · Abiotic factors · Benthos · Mixed-effect models Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherMar Ecol Prog Ser 391: [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] 2009 Some studies have reported that salt marshes contain few species compared to other systems like mangroves or seagrass meadows (Bloomfield & Gillanders 2005). However, low species diversity does not necessarily imply a less structured community. Recent studies on salt marsh zooplankton communities have shown that low species diversity can coincide with high size diversity due to the co-occurrence of different developmental stages of the dominant taxa, each of which has different diets (Brucet et al. 2006). Assuming that diversity is a function of the total range of resources and the degree of specialization of species to parts of that range, as it is postulated in the Niche Diversification Hypothesis (Connell 1978), a high size diversity would indicate a trophic niche segregation within stages of the same species, which is impossible to detect using only a taxonomic approach (Brucet et al. 2006). In accordance with this, a recent study dealing with benthic macroinvertebrate structuring processes in a salt pan suggested that situations with little or no relationship between niche partitioning and relative species abundance occurred (Barbone et al. 2007). On the other hand, it has been suggested...

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Section: Importance Of Biotic Interactions and Abiotic Factorssupporting

confidence: 51%

Patterns in size and species diversity of benthic macroinvertebrates in Mediterrannean salt marshes

Gascón¹,

Boix²,

Sala³

et al. 2009

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…Morin, Bourassa & Cattaneo (2001) showed that in some eutrophic systems, invertebrate grazing rates were higher than primary production, leading to the speculation that heterotrophic production supplemented the diets of grazers in eutrophic environments. Our data did not support this hypothesis; bacterial production, relative to algal production, was proportionately higher in low nutrient environments than in high nutrient environments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bacteria and algae in stream periphyton along a nutrient gradient

Carr

Morin

Chambers³

2005

Freshwater Biology

Self Cite

105

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1. Stream riffles in southern Ontario and western Quèbec were sampled for biomass (58 stations from 51 streams) and production (22 stations from 21 streams) of algae and bacteria in periphyton to test the hypothesis that bacteria in benthic biofilms compete with algae for nutrients. 2. Algal and bacterial biomass were positively correlated, as were algal and bacterial production. Bacterial production was also positively correlated to algal and bacterial biomass, but the relationship was not significant. The ratio of algal to bacterial biomass did not vary with nutrients whereas algal production tended to increase with nutrients more rapidly than bacterial production. 3. Instream nitrogen concentrations explained 38-58% of the variability in algal biomass and production. Bacterial abundance explained an additional 9-29% of the residual variance in algal production and biomass. However, the relationship between bacterial abundance and algal production and biomass, once nutrients were taken into account, was positive, in contrast to the predicted effect of competition. 4. Hence, we reject our original hypothesis that bacteria in biofilms compete with algae for nutrients and instead suggest that bacteria and algae in biofilms coexist in an association that offers space and resources to sustain production of both groups of organisms.

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“…Invertebrates positively and negatively affect primary production through direct and indirect interactions. In aquatic systems, examples have been found in rocky intertidal zones (Menge, 2000), pelagic communities (Hairston & Hairston, 1993), streams (Hill, Ryon & Schilling, 1995;Morin, Bourassa & Cattaneo, 2001), benthic communities (Covich, Palmer & Crowl, 1999), and coral reefs (Hay & Taylor, 1985). Studies have demonstrated the abilities of invertebrates to affect primary production in a variety of habitats.…”

Section: (A) Primary Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In terrestrial systems, supporting examples come from forests (Laakso & Setala, 1999), agricultural land (Isaacs et al, 2009), grasslands (Belovsky & Slade, 2000;Leriche et al, 2001), and marshes (Silliman & Bertness, 2002). In aquatic systems, examples have been found in rocky intertidal zones (Menge, 2000), pelagic communities (Hairston & Hairston, 1993), streams (Hill, Ryon & Schilling, 1995;Morin, Bourassa & Cattaneo, 2001), benthic communities (Covich, Palmer & Crowl, 1999), and coral reefs (Hay & Taylor, 1985). Invertebrates accelerate primary production directly through pollination (Klein et al, 2007) and seed dispersal (Brunet & Von Oheimb, 2002), and indirectly through trophic cascades (Schmitz, Hamback & Beckerman, 2000) and facilitation of nutrient cycling (Covich, Palmer & Crowl, 1999;Lavelle et al, 2006).…”

Section: (A) Primary Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invertebrates, ecosystem services and climate change

et al. 2012

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The sustainability of ecosystem services depends on a firm understanding of both how organisms provide these services to humans and how these organisms will be altered with a changing climate. Unquestionably a dominant feature of most ecosystems, invertebrates affect many ecosystem services and are also highly responsive to climate change. However, there is still a basic lack of understanding of the direct and indirect paths by which invertebrates influence ecosystem services, as well as how climate change will affect those ecosystem services by altering invertebrate populations. This indicates a lack of communication and collaboration among scientists researching ecosystem services and climate change effects on invertebrates, and land managers and researchers from other disciplines, which becomes obvious when systematically reviewing the literature relevant to invertebrates, ecosystem services, and climate change. To address this issue, we review how invertebrates respond to climate change. We then review how invertebrates both positively and negatively influence ecosystem services. Lastly, we provide some critical future directions for research needs, and suggest ways in which managers, scientists and other researchers may collaborate to tackle the complex issue of sustaining invertebrate-mediated services under a changing climate.

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Use of size spectra and empirical models to evaluate trophic relationships in streams

Cited by 15 publications

References 12 publications

Patterns in size and species diversity of benthic macroinvertebrates in Mediterrannean salt marshes

Patterns in size and species diversity of benthic macroinvertebrates in Mediterrannean salt marshes

Bacteria and algae in stream periphyton along a nutrient gradient

Invertebrates, ecosystem services and climate change

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