What a wonderful web they weave: spiders, nutrient capture and early ecosystem development in the high Arctic – some counter‐intuitive ideas on community assembly

Hodkinson, I. D.; Coulson, Stephen J.; Harrison, Joanna; Webb, N. R.

doi:10.1034/j.1600-0706.2001.950217.x

Cited by 95 publications

(93 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Although several studies have considered how soil fauna respond to ecosystem progression (e.g., Hodkinson et al 2001, Kaufmann 2001, few have considered soil faunal responses to retrogression. Williamson et al (2005) found densities of microbe-feeding and predatory nematodes to decline during retrogression in the Waitutu chronosequence of New Zealand.…”

Section: Responses Of Belowground and Aboveground Consumersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding ecosystem retrogression

Peltzer

Wardle

Allison

et al. 2010

Ecological Monographs

361

337

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Abstract. Over time scales of thousands to millions of years, and in the absence of rejuvenating disturbances that initiate primary or early secondary succession, ecosystem properties such as net primary productivity, decomposition, and rates of nutrient cycling undergo substantial declines termed ecosystem retrogression. Retrogression results from the depletion or reduction in the availability of nutrients, and can only be reversed through rejuvenating disturbance that resets the system; this differs from age-related declines in forest productivity that are driven by shorter-term depression of nutrient availability and plant ecophysiological process rates that occur during succession. Here we review and synthesize the findings from studies of long-term chronosequences that include retrogressive stages for systems spanning the boreal, temperate, and subtropical zones. Ecosystem retrogression has been described by ecologists, biogeochemists, geologists, and pedologists, each of which has developed somewhat independent conceptual frameworks; our review seeks to unify this literature in order to better understand the causes and consequences of retrogression. Studies of retrogression have improved our knowledge of how long-term pedogenic changes drive shorter-term biological processes, as well as the consequences of these changes for ecosystem development. Our synthesis also reveals that similar patterns of retrogression (involving reduced soil fertility, predictable shifts in organismic traits, and ecological processes) occur in systems with vastly different climatic regimes, geologic substrates, and vegetation types, even though the timescales and mechanisms driving retrogression may vary greatly among sites. Studies on retrogression also provide evidence that in many regions, high biomass or "climax" forests are often transient, and do not persist indefinitely in the absence of rejuvenating disturbance. Finally, our review highlights that studies on retrogressive chronosequences in contrasting regions provide unparalleled opportunities for developing general principles about the long-term feedbacks between biological communities and pedogenic processes, and how these control ecosystem development.

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Section: Responses Of Belowground and Aboveground Consumersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding ecosystem retrogression

Peltzer

Wardle

Allison

et al. 2010

Ecological Monographs

361

337

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Other studies have focused more on the interactions between plants, organic matter production, and decomposer densities (brown web interactions; Berendse et al 1994, Moore et al 2004, Wardle et al 2004, Berg and Bengtsson 2007. However, in some of the most intensively studied successions, plants were found to play a minor role in the first stages of succession (Edwards and Sugg 1993, Kaufmann 2001, Hodkinson et al 2004 or were not even present at all (Payne 1965, Polis and Hurd 1995, Hodkinson et al 2001. This raises general questions about the extent to which the green and the brown food webs determine the onset and outcome of succession and how the importance of these food web components changes over the course of primary succession.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecosystem assembly rules: the interplay of green and brown webs during salt marsh succession

Schrama

Berg

Olff

2012

Ecology

108

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Abstract. Current theories about vegetation succession and food web assembly are poorly compatible, as food webs are generally viewed to be static, and succession is usually analyzed without the inclusion of higher trophic levels. In this study we present results from a detailed analysis of ecosystem assembly rules over a chronosequence of 100 years of salt marsh succession. First, using 13 yearlong observations on vegetation and soil parameters in different successional stages, we show that the space-for-time substitution is valid for this chronosequence. We then quantify biomass changes for all dominant invertebrate and vertebrate species across all main trophic groups of plants and animals. All invertebrate and vertebrate species were assigned to a trophic group according to feeding preference, and changes in trophic group abundance were quantified for seven different successional stages of the ecosystem. We found changes from a marine-fueled, decomposer-based (brown) food web in early stages to a more terrestrial, plant-based, herbivore-driven (green) food web in intermediate succession stages, and finally to a decomposer-based, terrestrial-driven food web in the latest stages. These changes were accompanied not only by an increase in live plant biomass and a leveling toward late succession but also by a constant increase in the amount of dead plant biomass over succession. Our results show that the structure and dynamics of salt marsh food webs cannot be understood except in light of vegetation succession, and vice versa.

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“…The use of the chronosequence as a space-for-time substitution (Foster and Tilman 2000) along glacier foreland has provided significant insights into the patterns and mechanisms of plant (Walker arthropod diversity increase throughout the succession (Hodkinson et al 2001, Gobbi et al 2010.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structure-dynamic relationship of plant–insect networks along a primary succession gradient on a glacier foreland

Losapio

Jordán

Caccianiga

et al. 2015

Ecological Modelling

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There is a growing interest in understanding the structure-dynamic relationship of ecological networks. Ecological network changes along primary successions are poorly known: to address such topic, gradient of primary succession on glacier forelands is an ideal model, as sites of different age since deglaciation stand for different ecosystem developmental stages. We aimed to investigate the assembly processes of plant-insect networks and to elucidate its functional implications for ecosystem stability along this time sequence succession. We collected data on the functional role of anthophilous insect groups and performed network analysis to evaluate their relative importance in the structure of plant-insect interaction networks with increasing time since deglaciation along the primary succession of a debriscovered glacier foreland. We sampled anthophilous insects visiting the flowers of two models plant species, Leucanthemopsis alpina and Saxifraga bryoides. Insects were identified and trophic roles were attributed to each taxon (detritivores, parasitoids, phytophagous, pollinators, predators, and opportunists) at five sites representing the primary succession gradient. Plant-insect interactions were visually represented by a bipartite network for each successional stage. For each plant species and insect group, centrality indices were computed quantifying their community importance. For the whole network, centralization and link density were calculated. Pollinators dominated pioneer communities on the debris-covered glacier and in recently deglaciated areas, while parasitoids, predators and opportunists characterised late-succession stages. Plant species centrality varied along the succession. Pollinators showed initially higher but then decreasing centrality, while the centrality of predators and parasitoids increased with time since deglaciation. Along the same gradient link density showed an increasing trend while network centralization tended to decrease. The present study provides new insight into the initial steps of plantinsect network assembly and sheds light on the relationship between structure and dynamic in ecological networks. In particular, during the succession process, more links are formed and plant-anthophilous insect interactions change from a network dominated by pollinators to a functionally more diversified food web. We conclude that applying network theory to the study of primary succession provides a useful framework to investigate the relationship between community structure and ecosystem stability. higher but then decreasing centrality, while the centrality of predators and parasitoids increased with time since deglaciation. Along the same gradient link density showed an increasing trend while network centralization tended to decrease. The present study provides new insight into the initial steps of plant-insect network assembly and sheds light on the relationship between structure and dynamic in ecological networks. In particular, during the succession process, more links ar...

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What a wonderful web they weave: spiders, nutrient capture and early ecosystem development in the high Arctic – some counter‐intuitive ideas on community assembly

Cited by 95 publications

References 28 publications

Understanding ecosystem retrogression

Understanding ecosystem retrogression

Ecosystem assembly rules: the interplay of green and brown webs during salt marsh succession

Structure-dynamic relationship of plant–insect networks along a primary succession gradient on a glacier foreland

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