A Molecular and Stable Isotopic Approach to Investigate Algal and Detrital Energy Pathways in a Freshwater Marsh

Belicka, Laura L.; Sokol, Eric R.; Hoch, J. Matthew; Jaffé, Rudolf; Trexler, Joel C.

doi:10.1007/s13157-012-0288-6

Cited by 37 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…At the conclusion of the experiment, all animals were held for a period of 24 hours before euthanization to permit gut clearance and then frozen at -80ºC degrees until further processing. The whole-body samples were lyophilized at -50ºC for approximately 24 hours and homogenized (Belicka et al 2012) before being analyzed for FA composition and nutrient analysis. This work is covered by FIU IACUC permit 13-046-AM01.…”

Section: Laboratory Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Using periphyton TP content has been shown to be a better metric than water column P for early detection of nutrient enrichment because it rapidly sequesters P, yielding a response time in days following initial exposure (Gaiser et al 2004). Belicka et al (2012) used a sample size of three periphyton cores from both a nutrient-enriched near-canal site and an unenriched marsh site and found that the marsh site had an average TP content less than the near-canal site. However, this difference was not statistically significant because of a high variance among the within-site samples.…”

Section: Power Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Belicka et al (2012) showed that FAs in basal resources from the Everglades with higher P content had a larger proportion of algal-derived PUFAs than those with lower P content. The increase in algae-derived FAs indicated that nutrient enrichment has the potential to increase basal resources edibility and nutritional content .…”

mentioning

confidence: 96%

“…I hypothesized that these changes will yield cascading effects through the food web to primary and secondary consumers (Iwaniec 2008;Trexler et al 2015). Dietary shifts should yield an increase in consumer growth rate, algal-derived FAs and stoichiometric quality (Belicka et al 2012).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Influence of Experimental Sheet Flow on Aquatic Foods Webs of the Central Everglades

Bornhoeft¹

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Establishing historical water velocities is a goal of Everglades restoration because of their role maintaining landscape topographic relief. However, flows may also change the trophic state of marshes by phosphorus loading. I used fatty acid (FA) and stoichiometric data to quantify how increased sheet flow altered the relative heterotrophic and autotrophic contributions to aquatic consumers in a field experiment that introduced flowing water to an Everglades marsh in November, 2014. Algal taxonomic composition was different between pre-flow and flow sampling, marked by increases in the nutrient exploiting Mougeotia species (green algae) during flow sampling. Dietary tracer FAs in consumers reflected changes in algal resources, including an increase in green algaederived and a decrease in bacteria-derived FAs. These food web responses indicate that establishing historic water velocity in degraded wetlands can shift the origins of organic matter from a more detrital to more algal supported web.

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Section: Laboratory Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Power Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 96%

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confidence: 99%

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Influence of Experimental Sheet Flow on Aquatic Foods Webs of the Central Everglades

Bornhoeft¹

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“…Periphyton cores were thawed and all macroinvertebrates were removed, identified, and enumerated using a light microscope. After identification, all individuals were classified into dietary functional groups (herbivores, carnivores, detritivores, and omnivores) on the basis of previous studies (Belicka et al 2012, Loftus 2000, Thorp and Covich 2001. After the macroinvertebrates were removed, the remaining periphyton was dried at 80 °C for 48 hours, then incinerated at 500 °C for 3 hours to determine Ash Free Dry Mass (AFDM) of the sample (Liston 2006).…”

Section: Laboratory Protocolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relative Role of Dispersal Dynamics and Competition in Niche Breadth

Abbey-Lee¹

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When is an herbivore not an herbivore? Detritivory facilitates herbivory in a freshwater system

Sanchez

Trexler

2018

Ecology and Evolution

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Herbivory is thought to be an inefficient diet, but it independently evolved from carnivorous ancestors in many metazoan groups, suggesting that plant‐eating is adaptive in some circumstances. In this study, we tested two hypotheses to explain the adaptive evolution of herbivory: (i) the Heterotroph Facilitation hypothesis (herbivory is adaptive because herbivores supplement their diets with heterotrophic microbes); and (ii) the Lipid Allocation hypothesis (herbivory is adaptive because algae, which have high lipid concentrations, are nutritionally similar to carnivory). We tested these hypotheses using enclosure cages placed in the Everglades and stocked with Sailfin Mollies (Poecilia latipinna), a native herbivore. Using shading and phosphorus addition (P), we manipulated the heterotrophic microbe and lipid composition of colonizing epiphyton and examined the effects of varying food quality on Sailfin Molly life history. Epiphyton grown in “shade only” conditions had a 55% increase in bacterial fatty acids and 34% lower ratios of saturated + monounsaturated to polyunsaturated fatty acids relative to the other treatments. Ratio of autotroph to heterotroph biovolume varied throughout the experiment, with a 697% increase at 3 weeks and 98% decrease at 6 weeks compared to the other treatments. Gut contents revealed that fish fed selectively on epiphyton to compensate for apparent deficiencies in the available food. Fish raised in “shade only” cages experienced the highest survival, which was best explained by autotrophic biovolume and algal‐ and bacterial‐derived fatty acids at 3 weeks (2–6× more likely than alternative models with ∆AICc > 2.00), and by percentage of bacterial fatty acids in the diet at 6 weeks (3–8× more likely than alternative models with ∆AICc > 2.00). There were no differences in fish growth among treatments. Autotrophic lipids play a role in early fish life history, but we did not find these to be the best predictors of life history later in the juvenile period. Instead, heterotrophic lipids facilitated the herbivorous diet and enhanced survival of juvenile fish in our experiment. Bacterial fatty acid content of the diet promoted herbivore survival, consistent with the Heterotroph Facilitation hypothesis. This is the first study to explicitly contrast Heterotrophic Facilitation and Lipid Allocation hypotheses for the adaptive evolution of herbivory in an aquatic system.

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A Molecular and Stable Isotopic Approach to Investigate Algal and Detrital Energy Pathways in a Freshwater Marsh

Cited by 37 publications

References 37 publications

Influence of Experimental Sheet Flow on Aquatic Foods Webs of the Central Everglades

Influence of Experimental Sheet Flow on Aquatic Foods Webs of the Central Everglades

Relative Role of Dispersal Dynamics and Competition in Niche Breadth

When is an herbivore not an herbivore? Detritivory facilitates herbivory in a freshwater system

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