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16 results for “meta-ecosystem”
Experimental addition of marine-derived nutrients affects wildflower traits in a coastal meta-ecosystem
<p>Organismal movement can bring individuals, resources, and novel interactions across ecosystem boundaries and into recipient habitats, thereby forming meta-ecosystems. For example, Pacific salmon ecosystems receive large marine-derived nitrogen subsidies during annual spawning events, which can have a wide range of effects on aquatic and terrestrial plant species and communities. In this study, we evaluate the effects of cross-ecosystem nutrient subsidies on terrestrial plant growth and reproduction. We conducted a large-scale field experiment with four treatments: (1) addition of a pink salmon (<em>Oncorhynchus</em> <em>gorbuscha</em>) carcass, (2) addition of the drift seaweed rockweed (<em>Fucus</em> <em>distichus</em>), (3) addition of both salmon + rockweed, and (4) a control. We examined treatment effects on leaf nitrogen and fitness-associated floral traits in four common estuarine wildflower species. We found elevated leaf ∂<sup>15</sup>N in all plant species and all sampling years in treatments with salmon carcass additions but did not observe any differences in leaf percent nitrogen. We also observed larger leaf area in two species, a context-dependent increase in floral display area in two species, and a limited increase in plant seed set in response to both salmon carcass treatments. In sum, our study suggests that marine nutrients can affect terrestrial plant growth and reproduction.</p>
Experimental addition of marine-derived nutrients affects wildflower traits in a coastal meta-ecosystem
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Quantitative biogeography: Decreasing and more variable dynamics of keystone and foundation species in an iconic meta-ecosystem
<p>Ecosystem stability has intrigued ecologists for decades, and the realization that the global climate was changing sharpened and focused this interest. Determination of climate change effects on community stability, however, requires long-term studies of structure and underlying dynamics, including bottom-up and top-down effects in natural ecosystems. Although relevant datasets were rare in the early years of community ecology, such information has increased in recent decades. In a rocky intertidal system, we investigated the changes in ecological subsidies (nutrients, phytoplankton, prey colonization), several performance metrics of the dominant space occupier (mussels) and its primary predator (sea stars), and rate of predation by sea stars on mussels in relation to climatic oscillations, temperature, and disease. We focused on spatio-temporal changes in the mean and variability of these metrics. The research protocol involved annually repeated multiyear (~1999–2018), multisite (13 sites nested within 5 regions along ~260 km of the Oregon coast) observations, measurements, and experiments. We analyzed associations between environmental variables and ecological performance of key elements of the sea-star-mussel-dominated mid-intertidal system. We found that upwelling declined in some regions, but became more variable across all study regions. Air and water temperatures oscillated, but their mean and variation increased through time, with peak values coinciding with the 2014–16 combined El Niño and Marine Heat Wave. Ecological subsidies generally declined during the study period, and bottom-up processes increased in variability. Excepting growth rate, mussel (<em>Mytilus</em> <em>californianus</em>) performance (condition index, reproductive output) generally decreased and became more variable. Primarily due to a sea star wasting epidemic, reproductive output of the top predator <em>Pisaster</em> <em>ochraceus</em> decreased and became more variable, and predation rate on mussels also dropped abruptly. Analyses indicated that the primary drivers of these changes were temperature-related environmental factors. Since declining means and increasing variability of ecological performances are thought to typify destabilizing ecosystems, and environmental trends are toward ever more stressful conditions, the outlook for this iconic ecosystem is discouraging. Immediate and rapid action to mitigate and ultimately reverse climate change likely is the only option available to prevent an irreversible shift in the future of this, and most other ecosystems.</p>
A unified meta-ecosystem dynamics model: Integrating herbivore-plant subwebs with the intermittent upwelling hypothesis
<p>Determining the relative influence of biotic and abiotic processes in structuring communities at local to large spatial scales is best understood using a biogeographic comparative-experimental approach. Using this approach, previous work suggests that intertidal community dynamics (top-down and bottom-up effects) vary unimodally along an upwelling-based productivity gradient, termed the Intermittent Upwelling Hypothesis (IUH). Evidence consistent with the IUH comes from the sessile invertebrate/predator (SIP) subweb in certain rocky intertidal communities, but whether this pattern extends to macrophyte/herbivore (MH) subwebs is unknown. Here we ask: Are MH subwebs also structured as predicted by the IUH? What is the relative importance of herbivory and predation in structuring these communities? Under what conditions do ecological subsidies like nutrients or propagule production drive community dynamics? And are omnivorous interactions important? We hypothesize that MH subwebs are driven by a new construct, the Grazing-Weakening Hypothesis (GWH), which states that MH interactions weaken monotonically with increasing nutrients, with strong (weak) herbivory and low (high) macrophyte productivity at low (high) nutrients. We explored local-to-large spatial scale dynamics of both subwebs using a biogeographic comparative-experimental factorial field experiment testing joint and separate effects of herbivores and predators between two continents. Experiments at ten sites ranging across from persistent upwelling to persistent downwelling regimes ran for 26-29 months in Oregon and California, and New Zealand South Island. For the MH subweb, results were consistent with the GWH: herbivory declined and macrophytes increased with increasing nutrients. As expected, results for the SIP subweb were consistent with the IUH: predator effect size was unimodally related to upwelling. Overall, herbivory explained more variation in community structure than did predation, especially in New Zealand. Omnivory was weak, sessile invertebrates outcompeted macrophytes, and ocean-driven subsidies provided the basic template driving ecosystem dynamics. We propose a unified Meta-Ecosystem Dynamics Model (MEcoDynaMo) combining MH and SIP results: with increased upwelling, sessile invertebrates and underlying dynamics vary unimodally (as in the IUH), while herbivory decreases and macrophytes generally increase. While this model was based on research in temperate ecosystems varying in upwelling regime, its wider applicability remains to be tested.</p>
A unified meta-ecosystem dynamics model: Integrating herbivore-plant subwebs with the intermittent upwelling hypothesis
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Quantitative biogeography: Decreasing and more variable dynamics of keystone and foundation species in an iconic meta-ecosystem
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Is an ecosystem perspective sufficient to understand meta-ecosystem processes? A critical reflection
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Data from: Connectivity and nutrient enrichment affect the productivity and stability of aquatic meta-ecosystems
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Cross-ecosystem bottlenecks alter reciprocal subsidies within meta-ecosystems
<p class="Chapterparagraph"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Reciprocal subsidies link ecosystems into meta-ecosystems, but energy transfer to organisms that do not cross boundaries may create sinks, reducing reciprocal subsidy transfer. We investigated how the type of subsidy and top predator presence influenced reciprocal flows of energy, by manipulating the addition of terrestrial leaf and terrestrial insect subsidies to experimental freshwater pond mesocosms with and without predatory fish. Over 18 months, fortnightly addition of subsidies (terrestrial beetle larvae) to top-predators was crossed with monthly addition of subsidies (willow leaves) to primary consumers in mesocosms with and without top predators (upland bullies) in a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design in four replicate blocks. Terrestrial insect subsidies increased reciprocal flows, measured as the emergence of aquatic insects out of mesocosms, but leaf subsidies dampened those effects. However, the presence of fish and snails, consumers with no terrestrial life stage, usurped and retained the energy within in the aquatic ecosystem, creating a cross-ecosystem bottleneck to energy flow. Thus, changes in species composition within donor or recipient ecosystems within a meta-ecosystems can alter reciprocal subsidies through cross-ecosystem bottlenecks.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
Data from: Movement tactics of a mobile predator in a meta-ecosystem with fluctuating resources: the arctic fox in the High Arctic
Animal movement is a fundamental process shaping ecosystems at multiple levels, from the fate of individuals to global patterns of biodiversity. The spatio-temporal dynamic of food resources is a major driver of animal movement and generates patterns ranging from range residency to migration and nomadism. Arctic tundra predators face a strongly fluctuating environment marked by cyclic microtine populations, high seasonality, and the potential availability of sea ice, which gives access to marine resources in winter. This type of relatively poor and highly variable environment can promote long-distance movements and resource tracking in mobile species. Here, we investigated the winter movements of the arctic fox, a major tundra predator often described as a seasonal migrant or nomad. We used six years of Argos satellite telemetry data collected on 66 adults from Bylot Island (Nunavut, Canada) tracked during the sea ice period. We hypothesized that long-distance movements would be influenced by spatio-temporal changes in resource availability and individual characteristics. Despite strong annual and seasonal changes in resource abundance and distribution, we found that a majority of individuals remained resident, especially those located in an area characterized by highly predictable pulse resources (goose nesting colony) and abundant cached food items (eggs). Foxes compensated terrestrial food shortage by commuting to the sea ice rather than using long-distance tracking or moving completely onto the sea ice for winter. Individual characteristics also influenced movement patterns: age positively influenced the propensity to engage in nomadism, suggesting older foxes may be driven out of their territories. Our results show how these mammalian predators can adjust their movement patterns to favor range residency despite strong spatio-temporal fluctuations in food resources. Understanding the movement responses of predators to prey dynamics helps identifying the scales at which they work, which is a critical aspect of the functioning and connectivity among meta-ecosystems.
Increasing Instability of a Rocky Intertidal Meta-Ecosystem
<p>Climate change threatens to destabilize ecological communities, potentially moving them from persistently-occupied "basins of attraction" to different states. Increasing variation in key ecological processes can signal impending state shifts in ecosystems. In a rocky intertidal meta-ecosystem consisting of three distinct regions spread across 260 km of the Oregon coast, we show that annually cleared sites are characterized by communities that exhibit signs of increasing destabilization (loss of resilience) over the past decade despite persistent community states. In all cases, recovery rates slowed and became more variable over time. The conditions underlying these shifts appear to be external to the system, with thermal disruptions (e.g., marine heat waves, El Niño-Southern Oscillation) and shifts in ocean currents (e.g., upwelling) being the likely proximate drivers. Although this iconic ecosystem has long-appeared resistant to stress, the evidence suggests that subtle destabilization has occurred over at least the last decade.</p>
Data from: Movement tactics of a mobile predator in a meta-ecosystem with fluctuating resources: the arctic fox in the High Arctic
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Increasing Instability of a Rocky Intertidal Meta-Ecosystem
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Data from: How stock of origin affects performance of individuals across a meta-ecosystem: an example from Sockeye salmon
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Cross-ecosystem bottlenecks alter reciprocal subsidies within meta-ecosystems
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Data from: Spatially cascading effect of perturbations in experimental meta-ecosystems
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Allen Brain Atlas
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DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
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International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.