Ecosystem metabolism dynamics and environmental drivers in Mediterranean confined coastal lagoons

Bas-Silvestre, Maria; Quintana, Xavier D.; Compte, Jordi; Gascón, Stéphanie; Boix, Dani; Antón-Pardo, María; Obrador, Biel

doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2020.106989

Cited by 13 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 92 publications

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“…This is expected in confined ecosystems, where there is a lack of external inputs most of the year and where internal processes dominate over external loadings (Gamito et al 2005;Glibert et al 2010). Thus, oxygen dynamics depends more on system metabolism, which in turn is dependent on temperature Pretus 2010, 2012;Bas-Silvestre et al 2020), rather than on physical processes related to surface water inputs, which are especially low during confinement conditions (Menció et al 2017;Casamitjana et al 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1 Map of the study area with the location of the lagoons studied. Adapted from Cabrera et al (2019) and Bas-Silvestre et al (2020). BPI and FRA, natural lagoons; lagoons with a number are artificial the corresponding salt marsh vegetation.…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The oxygen sensor has a resolution of 0.01 mg/L with an accuracy of ± 5%, and the temperature sensor has a resolution of 0.01 °C with an accuracy of 0.1 °C. More details about the oxygen measurements and the resulting ecosystem metabolism estimations in these lagoons are found in Bas-Silvestre et al (2020).…”

Section: Sampling Procedures and High-frequency Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A succession of zooplankton dominances related to changes in hydrology and trophic state has been described in brackish and temporary confined water bodies (Quintana et al 1998a(Quintana et al , 2006. Similar alternations among single zooplankton species have also been described in permanent water bodies with high fish density, as is the case of La Pletera salt marshes, with seasonal changes between calanoids (mainly Eurytemora velox) and Brachionus rotifers (almost exclusively a species of the Brachionus plicatilis complex), the former dominating in winter, when organic matter concentration is low, and the latter in summer, coinciding with increases in organic matter and with strong oxygen oscillations giving oversaturation during the day and hypoxia during the night (Badosa et al 2007;Cabrera et al 2019;Bas-Silvestre et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, fluctuations in oxygen values have been related to trophic state (Vollenweider and Kerekes 1982;Nielsen et al 2013). A wide line of research has been developed related to the use of oxygen diel oscillations for the estimation of ecosystem metabolic rates and the analysis of their drivers in aquatic ecosystems (Staehr et al 2010;Demars et al 2015;Grace et al 2015;Honti et al 2016) as done in coastal lagoons (Carmouze et al 1991;Howarth et al 2014;Obrador et al 2014;Bas-Silvestre et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Identifying critical transitions in seasonal shifts of zooplankton composition in a confined coastal salt marsh

et al. 2021

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Zooplankton assemblages in the confined coastal lagoons of La Pletera salt marshes (Baix Ter wetlands, Girona, Spain) are dominated by two species: one calanoid copepod (Eurytemora velox) and the other rotifer (Brachionus gr. plicatilis). They alternate as the dominant species (more than 80% of total zooplankton biomass), with the former being dominant in winter and the latter in summer. Shifts between these taxa are sudden, and intermediate situations usually do not last more than 1 month. Although seasonal shifts between zooplankton dominant species appear to be related with temperature, other factors such as trophic state or oxygen concentration may also play an important role. Shifts between species dominances may be driven by thresholds in these environmental variables. However, according to the alternative stable states theory, under conditions of stable dominance a certain resistance to change may exist, causing that gradual changes might have little effect until a tipping point is reached, at which the reverse change becomes much more difficult. We investigated which are the possible factors causing seasonal zooplankton shifts. We used high-frequency temperature and oxygen data provided by sensors installed in situ to analyse if shifts in zooplankton composition are determined by a threshold in these variables or, on the other hand, some gradual change between stable states occur. Moreover, following the postulates of the alternative stable states theory, we looked at possible hysteresis to analyse if these seasonal zooplankton shifts behave as critical transitions between two different equilibriums. We also examined if top-down or bottom-up trophic interactions affect these zooplankton shifts. Our results show that shifts between dominant zooplankton species in La Pletera salt marshes are asymmetric. The shift to a Eurytemora situation is mainly driven by a decrease in temperature, with a threshold close to 19 °C of daily average temperature, while the shift to Brachionus does not. Usually, the decrease in water temperature is accompanied by a decrease in oxygen oscillation with values always close to 100% oxygen saturation. Moreover, oxygen and temperature values before the shift to calanoids are different from those before the reverse shift to Brachionus, suggesting hysteresis and some resistance to change when a critical transition is approaching. Top-down and bottom-up forces appear to have no significant effect on shifts, since zooplankton biomass was not negatively correlated with fish biomass and was not positively related with chlorophyll, in overall data or within shifts.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sampling Procedures and High-frequency Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Identifying critical transitions in seasonal shifts of zooplankton composition in a confined coastal salt marsh

et al. 2021

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Phytoplankton composition in Mediterranean confined coastal lagoons: testing the use of ecosystem metabolism for the quantification of community-related variables

Bas-Silvestre,

Antón-Pardo,

Boix

et al. 2024

Aquat Sci

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Estimations of ecosystem metabolism have rarely been used to quantify productivity in structural reductionist approaches for the description of phytoplankton composition. However, estimations of ecosystem metabolism could contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between phytoplankton composition and ecosystem functioning. To examine this, we investigated the community structure of phytoplankton in a set of Mediterranean coastal lagoons (natural and artificial) during a hydrological cycle to identify the most important environmental variables determining phytoplankton species composition. The focus of the study was on the quantification of productivity-related variables using estimations of ecosystem metabolism, such as different proxies for the estimation of the production-to-biomass ratio and of the relative importance of K- and r-strategies, which are commonly used conceptually but not quantified. Our results demonstrated differences in phytoplankton composition between seasons, due to the dominant hydrological pattern of flooding confinement in the salt marsh, and between lagoons that were caused by different levels of nutrient availability. Moreover, there was a notable decrease in the production/biomass ratio and a prevalence of K-strategists with seasonal succession, as predicted by Margalef’s mandala. Thus, the results showed that estimations of ecosystem metabolism are useful for the higher frequency quantification of important ecological variables, and contribute to a better understanding of planktonic assemblages, and physical and chemical changes, in these fluctuating ecosystems.

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Class Hexapoda: general introduction

Boix,

Bonada,

Muñoz

et al. 2024

Identification and Ecology of Freshwater Arthropods in the Mediterranean Basin

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Ecosystem metabolism dynamics and environmental drivers in Mediterranean confined coastal lagoons

Cited by 13 publications

References 92 publications

Identifying critical transitions in seasonal shifts of zooplankton composition in a confined coastal salt marsh

Identifying critical transitions in seasonal shifts of zooplankton composition in a confined coastal salt marsh

Phytoplankton composition in Mediterranean confined coastal lagoons: testing the use of ecosystem metabolism for the quantification of community-related variables

Class Hexapoda: general introduction

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