Freshwater in flux

Cole, Jonathan J.

doi:10.1038/ngeo1696

Cited by 27 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 6 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Because ancient carbon from the glacier matters as an energy source, the term “primary succession” should be used with care. Finally, there is an increasing awareness of the importance of interactions between terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems regarding energy flow and element cycling293031 and our result adds a further dimension to the functional importance of interactions between different types of biota.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

Ancient carbon from a melting glacier gives high 14C age in living pioneer invertebrates

Hågvar

Ohlson

2013

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Glaciers are retreating and predatory invertebrates rapidly colonize deglaciated, barren ground. The paradox of establishing predators before plants and herbivores has been explained by wind-driven input of invertebrate prey. Here we present an alternative explanation and a novel glacier foreland food web by showing that pioneer predators eat locally produced midges containing 21,000 years old ancient carbon released by the melting glacier. Ancient carbon was assimilated by aquatic midge larvae, and terrestrial adults achieved a radiocarbon age of 1040 years. Terrestrial spiders, harvestmen and beetles feeding on adult midges had radiocarbon ages of 340–1100 years. Water beetles assumed to eat midge larvae reached radiocarbon ages of 1100–1200 years. Because both aquatic and terrestrial pioneer communities use ancient carbon, the term “primary succession” is questionable in glacier forelands. If our “old” invertebrates had been collected as subfossils and radiocarbon dated, their age would have been overestimated by up to 1100 years.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

Ancient carbon from a melting glacier gives high 14C age in living pioneer invertebrates

Hågvar

Ohlson

2013

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Although ancient organic and inorganic carbon storage reservoirs in watersheds are important sources of carbon in streams (Raymond et al 2004, Mayorga et al 2005, the bioavailability of ancient carbon sources to benthic consumers, including macroinvertebrates, which have diets originating from various organic materials, has not been directly assessed. Tracing carbon from watershed storage reservoirs to trophic transfer pathways is a major challenge that involves biogeochemical (e.g., materials cycling) and ecological (e.g., food webs) aquatic-terrestrial linkages (Cole 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon storage reservoirs in watersheds support stream food webs via periphyton production

Ishikawa

Uchida

Shibata

et al. 2014

Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We measured the natural abundances of radiocarbon (delta14C) in macroinvertebrates, fishes, and their potential food sources, collected from the upper and lower reaches of six temperate streams in Lake Biwa basin (central Japan), three of which flow on limestone bedrock. Several carbon storage reservoirs in the watersheds show distinctive delta14C signatures (e.g., ancient carbonate rocks, -1000 per thousand; modern atmospheric CO2, +50 per thousand). Our analyses showed that the delta14C values for periphytic algae range from -361 per thousand to +21 per thousand, reflecting 14C-depleted signals from watershed storage reservoirs (carbonate rocks and/or soils). In contrast, the delta14C values for coarse particulate organic matter (CPOM) range from -6 per thousand to +62 per thousand, reflecting 14C-enriched signals from modern atmospheric CO2. The periphyton from streams on limestone bedrock was more 14C-depleted than that from streams in non-limestone areas, although the delta14C values for periphyton from the latter were less than modern atmospheric 14CO2 concentration. The delta14C values for most of the consumers were between those for periphyton and CPOM. Based on a delta14C two-source mixing models, the results suggested that the grazers rely on periphyton, while the carbon source for collectors and predators shifts from CPOM in the upper reaches of streams to periphyton in the lower reaches. The delta14C signature can trace carbon from watershed storage reservoirs to benthic production, which suggests that stream food webs are composed of mixtures of carbon originating from various sources of different ages.

show abstract

“…Our understanding of the global carbon cycle will only be complete if we include the flux of carbon through inland freshwaters (Cole et al, 2007;Battin et al, 2009;Trimmer et al, 2012) getting to grips with methane-fuelling of food webs is an interesting and important component of this. Indeed, (Cole, 2013) noted that "the role of methane in supporting food webs in lakes, and perhaps even beyond their shores, has come as a surprise" and that "the notion that lake methane partially supports higher organisms in surrounding terrestrial environments fundamentally changes our understanding of how aquatic food webs work. "…”

Section: A Brief Synopsis On the Global Importance Of Methane In Aquamentioning

confidence: 99%

The Incredible Lightness of Being Methane-Fuelled: Stable Isotopes Reveal Alternative Energy Pathways in Aquatic Ecosystems and Beyond

Grey

2016

Front. Ecol. Evol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We have known about the processes of methanogenesis and methanotrophy for over 100 years, since the days of Winogradsky, yet their contributions to the carbon cycle were deemed to be of negligible importance for the majority of that period. It is only in the last two decades that methane has been appreciated for its role in the global carbon cycle, and stable isotopes have come to the forefront as tools for identifying and tracking the fate of methane-derived carbon (MDC) within food webs, especially within aquatic ecosystems. While it is not surprising that chemosynthetic processes dominate and contribute almost 100% to the biomass of organisms residing within extreme habitats like deep ocean hydrothermal vents and seeps, way below the reach of photosynthetically active radiation, it is perhaps counterintuitive to find reliance upon MDC in shallow, well-lit, well-oxygenated streams. Yet, apparently, MDC contributes to varying degrees across the spectrum from point sources to extremely diffuse sources. Certainly a good proportion of the evidence for MDC contributing to freshwater food webs comes from somewhere in the middle of that spectrum; from studies of seasonally stratifying lakes (mono-or dimictic) wherein, there is a defined gradient or boundary at which anoxic meet oxic conditions and consequently allows for close coupling of methanogenesis and methanotrophy. However, even seemingly well-mixed (polymictic) lakes have a contribution of MDC contributing to the benthic biomass, despite an almost continual supply of photosynthetic carbon being delivered from the surface. Aside from the fundamental importance of identifying the carbon sources fuelling biomass production, stable isotopes have been integral in the tool box of palaeolimnologists seeking to identify how contributions from methane have waxed and waned over time. Here, we synthesize the current state of knowledge in the use of stable isotopes to trace MDC in primarily freshwater ecosystems.

show abstract

Freshwater in flux

Cited by 27 publications

References 6 publications

Ancient carbon from a melting glacier gives high 14C age in living pioneer invertebrates

Ancient carbon from a melting glacier gives high 14C age in living pioneer invertebrates

Carbon storage reservoirs in watersheds support stream food webs via periphyton production

The Incredible Lightness of Being Methane-Fuelled: Stable Isotopes Reveal Alternative Energy Pathways in Aquatic Ecosystems and Beyond

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About