Benthic-Pelagic Links: Responses of Benthos to Water-Column Nutrient Enrichment

Blumenshine, Steven C.; Vadeboncoeur, Yvonne; Lodge, David M.; Cottingham, Kathryn L.; Knight, Susan E.

doi:10.2307/1468138

Cited by 121 publications

(110 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…We found that nutrient addition led to an increase in MeHg flux from aquatic ecosystems, primarily through enhancing the biomass of emerging insects whose tissues were contaminated with MeHg. The bottom-up effect of nutrients on the flux of resource subsidies (i.e., emerging insects) to terrestrial ecosystems has previously been demonstrated across productivity gradients in field studies [29] and in systems that have been experimentally manipulated [10][11][12]30]. The present study suggests that increased nutrient inputs into aquatic ecosystems increases the risk that terrestrial consumers will be exposed to greater fluxes of aquatically-derived MeHg.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

Bottom-up nutrient and top-down fish impacts on insect-mediated mercury flux from aquatic ecosystems

Jones

Chumchal

Drenner

et al. 2012

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry

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Abstract-Methyl mercury (MeHg) is one of the most hazardous contaminants in the environment, adversely affecting the health of wildlife and humans. Recent studies have demonstrated that aquatic insects biotransport MeHg and other contaminants to terrestrial consumers, but the factors that regulate the flux of MeHg out of aquatic ecosystems via emergent insects have not been studied. The authors used experimental mesocosms to test the hypothesis that insect emergence and the associated flux of MeHg from aquatic to terrestrial ecosystems is affected by both bottom-up nutrient effects and top-down fish consumer effects. In the present study, nutrient addition led to an increase in MeHg flux primarily by enhancing the biomass of emerging insects whose tissues were contaminated with MeHg, whereas fish decreased MeHg flux primarily by reducing the biomass of emerging insects. Furthermore, the authors found that these factors are interdependent such that the effects of nutrients are more pronounced when fish are absent, and the effects of fish are more pronounced when nutrient concentrations are high. The present study is the first to demonstrate that the flux of MeHg from aquatic to terrestrial ecosystems is strongly enhanced by bottom-up nutrient effects and diminished by top-down consumer effects. Environ.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

Bottom-up nutrient and top-down fish impacts on insect-mediated mercury flux from aquatic ecosystems

Jones

Chumchal

Drenner

et al. 2012

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry

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“…Submerged plants can stabilize sediments (Scheffer 1998;Horppila & Nurminen 2003;, remove suspended particles from the water by reducing wave turbulence (Vermaat et al 2000;Horppila & Nurminen 2003), provide a substrate for epiphytic algae that sequesters nutrients from the water (Blumenshine et al 1997;McCormick et al 2001;Toet et al 2003), reduce P fluxes into the water column from sediment (Wigand et al 1997;Horppila & Nurminen 2003;Qin et al 2007), and inhibit phytoplankton growth (Mulderij et al 2007). Thus, areas of dense submerged plants in shallow lakes typically have very clear water and low concentrations of nutrients as well as phytoplankton (Jeppesen et al 1998;Blindow et al 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses of chlorophyll and MDA ofVallisneria natansto nitrogen and phosphorus availability and epiphytic algae

Song

Kong

Xue

et al. 2014

Journal of Freshwater Ecology

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It is common for submerged plants to become less abundant and disappear in eutrophic lakes in the world. To explore degradation mechanisms of submerged plants during the growing season, we determined chlorophyll and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations in Vallisneria natans (Lour.) Hara cultivated under four different nutrient concentrations (N/P, mg/L): T1 D 0.5/0.05, T2 D 2.5/0.25, T3 D 4.5/0.45, and T4 D 12.5/1.25) and under low and high density of epiphytic algae. With the increase in nutrients, the content of chlorophyll in the leaves of V. natans varied in the order T3 > T2 > T1 (T4) at low density (grazed) of epiphytic algae and varied in the order T3 > T2 > T1 > T4 in the high density (ungrazed) of epiphytic algae. With the increase in nutrients, the content of MDA in the leaves of V. natans varied in the order T4 >T1 (T2, T3) at the low density (grazed) of epiphytic algae and varied as T4 > T3 > T2 > T1 at the high density of epiphytic algae. At the same time, chlorophyll content of V. natans was significantly higher (p < 0.01 and the content of MDA was significantly lower (p < 0.01) in the grazed treatment than in the non-grazed treatment under the same nutrient concentrations. During the growing season, total nitrogen and total phosphorus concentrations were low (N < 4.5 mg N/L, P < 0.45 mg P/L) in Lake Taihu, a large shallow eutrophic lake in China; consequently water column nutrient loading benefited the growth of V. natans, but the high biomass of epiphytic algae and planktonic algae caused by the high nutrient loading of water column inhibited the growth of V. natans.

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“…Benthic autotrophs and heterotrophs respond differently to nutrient enrichment (Mulholland et al 1991;Hillebrand et al 2002) and depending on the substratum type (solid substratum vs. sediment; Blumenshine et al 1997). These differential responses to nutrient enrichment may be related to the nutrient status of the biofilm.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of substratum type and nutrient supply on biofilm organic matter utilization in streams

Romaní

Giorgi

Acuña

et al. 2004

Limnology & Oceanography

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We investigated the effect of benthic substratum type (sand and rocks) and nutrient supply (N and P) on biofilm structure and heterotrophic metabolism in a field experiment in a forested Mediterranean stream (Fuirosos). Rock and sand colonization and biofilm formation was intensively studied for 44 d at two stream reaches: control and experimental (continuous addition of phosphate, ammonia, and nitrate). Structural (C, N, and polysaccharide content and bacterial and chlorophyll density) and metabolic biofilm parameters (␤-glucosidase, peptidase, and phosphatase enzyme activities) were analyzed throughout the colonization process. The epilithic biofilm (grown on rocks) had a higher peptidase activity at the impacted reach, together with a higher algal and bacterial biomass. The positive relationship between the peptidase activity per cell and the N content of the epilithic biofilm suggested that heterotrophic utilization of proteinaceous compounds from within the biofilm was occurring. In contrast, nutrient addition caused the epipsammic biofilm (grown on sand) to exhibit lower ␤-glucosidase and phosphatase activities, without a significant increase in bacterial and algal biomass. The differential response to nutrient addition was related to different structural characteristics within each biofilm. The epipsammic biofilm had a constant and high C : N ratio (22.7) throughout the colonization. The epilithic biofilm had a higher C : N ratio at the beginning of the colonization (43.2) and evolved toward a more complex structure (high polysaccharide content and low C : N ratio) during later stages. The epipsammic biofilm was a site for the accumulation and degradation of organic matter: polysaccharides and organic phosphorus compounds had higher degradation activities.Microorganisms play a key role in the degradation of organic matter and the associated release of energy in stream ecosystems (Meyer 1994). Microbial communities feed on allochthonous (dissolved and particulate plant and animal materials) and/or autochthonous organic matter (algal detritus and exudates) and are the main factor responsible for river C cycling (Allan 1995). In low-order streams, the benthic community is the most important site for organic matter cycling. In most cases, rock, cobbles, sand, and wood coexist in a stream reach, and all of these substrata host biofilms with differing structural characteristics (Lock 1993). In association with these structural differences, there are also significant differences in photosynthetic activity, biofilm thick- AcknowledgmentsWe thank two anonymous reviewers for their helpful suggestions about the manuscript. Comments by E. Garcia Berthou and C. Freeman are very much appreciated.

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Benthic-Pelagic Links: Responses of Benthos to Water-Column Nutrient Enrichment

Cited by 121 publications

References 57 publications

Bottom-up nutrient and top-down fish impacts on insect-mediated mercury flux from aquatic ecosystems

Bottom-up nutrient and top-down fish impacts on insect-mediated mercury flux from aquatic ecosystems

Responses of chlorophyll and MDA ofVallisneria natansto nitrogen and phosphorus availability and epiphytic algae

The influence of substratum type and nutrient supply on biofilm organic matter utilization in streams

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