Forest Structure Affects the Stoichiometry of Periphyton Primary Producers in Mountain Streams of Northern Patagonia

Martyniuk, Nicolás; Modenutti, Beatriz; Balseiro, Esteban

doi:10.1007/s10021-016-9996-8

Cited by 18 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…For Chaetostoma , we used periphyton as the food resource of these algal grazers (Kramer & Bryant, ; Lujan et al, ). While these dietary stoichiometry data represent only one basin, that is the Napo at approximately 1ºS latitude, they are broadly consistent with patterns in other Andean streams that are largely driven by typical alpine trends in which canopy cover declines and light exposure increases at higher elevations (Atkinson et al, ; Kohler et al, ; Martyniuk, Modenutti, & Balseiro, ). As a result, these data provide necessary context to understand the importance of any observed TER C:P shifts with elevation.…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 69%

“…While our data suggest that some degree of body stoichiometric variation within these genera can modulate the TER C:P and explain this indistinct upper elevational range limit (Figure ), there is evidently still a point where temperatures become too cold for any grazing loricariid population to persist. In the Andes, the increase in periphyton C:P with elevation (Atkinson et al, ; Martyniuk et al, ) in concert with the decreased TER C:P apparently constrains the upper elevation at which these grazers can sustain viable populations. However, other potential contributing factors, such as atmospheric pressure, UV radiation, geology, slope, vegetation and discharge, also vary in relation to elevation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Threshold elemental ratios and the temperature dependence of herbivory in fishes

et al. 2019

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Herbivorous ectothermic vertebrates are more diverse and abundant at lower latitudes. While thermal constraints may drive this pattern, its underlying cause remains unclear. We hypothesized that this constraint stems from an inability to meet the elevated phosphorus demands of bony vertebrates feeding on P‐poor plant material at cooler temperatures because low gross growth efficiency at warmer temperatures facilitates higher P ingestion rates. We predicted that dietary carbon:phosphorus (C:P) should exceed the threshold elemental ratio between carbon and P‐limited growth (TERC:P) for herbivores feeding at cooler temperatures, thereby limiting the range of herbivorous ectothermic vertebrates facing P‐limited growth. We tested this hypothesis using the Andean suckermouth catfishes Astroblepus and Chaetostoma. Astroblepus are invertivores that inhabit relatively cool, high‐elevation streams while Chaetostoma are grazers that inhabit relatively warm, low‐elevation streams. We calculated TERC:P for each genus across its elevational range and compared these values to measured values of food quality over an elevational gradient in the Andes. We also broadly summarized measurements of TERC:P across diverse groups of fishes. Supporting our hypothesis, we found that dietary C:P was predicted to exceed the TERC:P for the grazer Chaetostoma near the highest elevation where this genus has been recorded. Conversely, the TERC:P for the invertivore Astroblepus was consistently higher than that of Chaetostoma and thus its dietary C:P never approached the TERC:P. We found that, among all fishes, omnivores had higher average TERC:P than invertivores, and TERC:P did not vary with temperature. Our results suggest that, at least for Andean suckermouth catfishes, cool temperatures constrain herbivory at higher elevations. Increased gross growth efficiency at cooler temperatures evidently restricts the ability of P‐limited consumers to meet P demand. However, our survey of fish TERC:P estimates suggests that some fishes are able to circumvent this constraint through behavioural and life‐history adaptations that reduce P demand or increase P use efficiency. The physiological trade‐offs underlying these functional shifts reveal that geographic dietary patterns can be predicted by stoichiometric theory, but variation in food quality and consumer traits that reduce P demand and/or increase P efficiency can create exceptions to these patterns. A plain language summary is available for this article.

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Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 69%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Threshold elemental ratios and the temperature dependence of herbivory in fishes

et al. 2019

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“…Many previous studies have identified drivers of nutrient concentrations or cycles at broad regional to continental spatial extents (Jobbagy and Jackson 2001, Booth et al 2005, Taranu and Gregory-Eaves 2008, Read et al 2015, Liu et al 2016), yet few have done the same for nutrient ratios (but see Arbuckle and Downing 2001, Elser et al 2009, Dijkstra et al 2012, He et al 2014, Martyniuk et al 2016. Predicting nutrient ratios is likely challenging, as illustrated by a simple heuristic example of scenarios for predicting ratios and the individual elements that comprise them (Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lake nutrient stoichiometry is less predictable than nutrient concentrations at regional and sub‐continental scales

Collins

Oliver

Lapierre

et al. 2017

Ecological Applications

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Production in many ecosystems is co-limited by multiple elements. While a known suite of drivers associated with nutrient sources, nutrient transport, and internal processing controls concentrations of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) in lakes, much less is known about whether the drivers of single nutrient concentrations can also explain spatial or temporal variation in lake N:P stoichiometry. Predicting stoichiometry might be more complex than predicting concentrations of individual elements because some drivers have similar relationships with N and P, leading to a weak relationship with their ratio. Further, the dominant controls on elemental concentrations likely vary across regions, resulting in context dependent relationships between drivers, lake nutrients and their ratios. Here, we examine whether known drivers of N and P concentrations can explain variation in N:P stoichiometry, and whether explaining variation in stoichiometry differs across regions. We examined drivers of N:P in ~2,700 lakes at a sub-continental scale and two large regions nested within the sub-continental study area that have contrasting ecological context, including differences in the dominant type of land cover (agriculture vs. forest). At the sub-continental scale, lake nutrient concentrations were correlated with nutrient loading and lake internal processing, but stoichiometry was only weakly correlated to drivers of lake nutrients. At the regional scale, drivers that explained variation in nutrients and stoichiometry differed between regions. In the Midwestern U.S. region, dominated by agricultural land use, lake depth and the percentage of row crop agriculture were strong predictors of stoichiometry because only phosphorus was related to lake depth and only nitrogen was related to the percentage of row crop agriculture. In contrast, all drivers were related to N and P in similar ways in the Northeastern U.S. region, leading to weak relationships between drivers and stoichiometry. Our results suggest ecological context mediates controls on lake nutrients and stoichiometry. Predicting stoichiometry was generally more difficult than predicting nutrient concentrations, but human activity may decouple N and P, leading to better prediction of N:P stoichiometry in regions with high anthropogenic activity.

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“…The effect of light on soil elements and stoichiometry mainly manifests in soil nutrient use by plants under different solar radiation conditions (Urabe et al, 2002). In addition, Martyniuk et al (2016) found that the biomass, photosynthetic parameters and elemental content of plant species in forest ecosystems exhibited close relationships to light availability.…”

Section: Predictor Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial estimation of soil carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus stoichiometry in complex terrains: a case study of Schrenk's spruce forest in the Tianshan Mountains

Chang

Lü

et al. 2018

Preprint

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Forest Structure Affects the Stoichiometry of Periphyton Primary Producers in Mountain Streams of Northern Patagonia

Cited by 18 publications

References 71 publications

Threshold elemental ratios and the temperature dependence of herbivory in fishes

Threshold elemental ratios and the temperature dependence of herbivory in fishes

Lake nutrient stoichiometry is less predictable than nutrient concentrations at regional and sub‐continental scales

Spatial estimation of soil carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus stoichiometry in complex terrains: a case study of Schrenk's spruce forest in the Tianshan Mountains

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