Impacts on freshwater macrophytes produced by small invertebrate herbivores: Afrotropical and Neotropical wetlands compared

Franceschini, Celeste; Murphy, K. J.; Moore, Isabel; Kennedy, Michael P.; Martínez, Fedra Solange; Willems, Frank; Wysiecki, Marı́a L. De; Sichingabula, Henry M.

doi:10.1007/s10750-020-04360-5

Cited by 11 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…The interactions between megafauna and primary producers have multiple facets, including direct interactions through feeding and physical disturbances and indirect interactions through smaller consumers. Aquatic plants are an important part of the diets of large mammalian herbivores such as manatees, marsh deer, lechwe, sitatunga ( Tragelaphus spekii ) and water buffalo (Guterres‐Pazin et al ., 2014; Shrestha et al ., 2020; Ndawula et al ., 2011; Tomas & Salis, 2000; Franceschini et al ., 2020). Their herbivory activities profoundly influence the composition and growth of aquatic vegetation.…”

Section: Interactions With Other Freshwater Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Freshwater megafauna shape ecosystems and facilitate restoration

He,

Svenning,

Chen

et al. 2024

Biological Reviews

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Freshwater megafauna, such as sturgeons, giant catfishes, river dolphins, hippopotami, crocodylians, large turtles, and giant salamanders, have experienced severe population declines and range contractions worldwide. Although there is an increasing number of studies investigating the causes of megafauna losses in fresh waters, little attention has been paid to synthesising the impacts of megafauna on the abiotic environment and other organisms in freshwater ecosystems, and hence the consequences of losing these species. This limited understanding may impede the development of policies and actions for their conservation and restoration. In this review, we synthesise how megafauna shape ecological processes in freshwater ecosystems and discuss their potential for enhancing ecosystem restoration. Through activities such as movement, burrowing, and dam and nest building, megafauna have a profound influence on the extent of water bodies, flow dynamics, and the physical structure of shorelines and substrata, increasing habitat heterogeneity. They enhance nutrient cycling within fresh waters, and cross‐ecosystem flows of material, through foraging and reproduction activities. Freshwater megafauna are highly connected to other freshwater organisms via direct consumption of species at different trophic levels, indirect trophic cascades, and through their influence on habitat structure. The literature documenting the ecological impacts of freshwater megafauna is not evenly distributed among species, regions, and types of ecological impacts, with a lack of quantitative evidence for large fish, crocodylians, and turtles in the Global South and their impacts on nutrient flows and food‐web structure. In addition, population decline, range contraction, and the loss of large individuals have reduced the extent and magnitude of megafaunal impacts in freshwater ecosystems, rendering a posteriori evaluation more difficult. We propose that reinstating freshwater megafauna populations holds the potential for restoring key ecological processes such as disturbances, trophic cascades, and species dispersal, which will, in turn, promote overall biodiversity and enhance nature's contributions to people. Challenges for restoration actions include the shifting baseline syndrome, potential human–megafauna competition for habitats and resources, damage to property, and risk to human life. The current lack of historical baselines for natural distributions and population sizes of freshwater megafauna, their life history, trophic interactions with other freshwater species, and interactions with humans necessitates further investigation. Addressing these knowledge gaps will improve our understanding of the ecological roles of freshwater megafauna and support their full potential for facilitating the development of effective conservation and restoration strategies to achieve the coexistence of humans and megafauna.

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Section: Interactions With Other Freshwater Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Freshwater megafauna shape ecosystems and facilitate restoration

He,

Svenning,

Chen

et al. 2024

Biological Reviews

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“…In this sense, despite the dominant role of microalgae carbon to higher trophic levels (e.g., Arau ´jo-Lima et al, 1986;James et al, 2000;da Lopes et al, 2007), there is evidence that carbon from macrophyte detritus may also be important for invertebrates and fish in some ecosystems (Neill & Cornwell, 1992;Bunn & Boon, 1993;Thorp et al, 1998;Hart & Lovvorn 2003;Peel et al, 2019). In addition to providing organic matter for detritivorous organisms, macrophytes also provide food to aquatic and terrestrial herbivores (Jepsen & Winemiller, 2007;Martinez et al, 2013;Marchese et al, 2014;Bakker et al, 2016;Wolters et al, 2018;Crema et al, 2019;Franceschini et al, 2020). Thus, through photosynthesis and primary production, macrophytes have an important role in food webs of shallow ecosystems, which will translate into an increase in production of fish and of other animals used by humans (provisioning services).…”

Section: Supporting Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The macrophyte community (hereafter ''macrophytes'') is considered a key element in freshwater ecosystems, especially in shallow ones (Scheffer, 2004;Jeppesen et al, 2007a, b). These plants change the physical and chemical environment (Bini et al, 2010;Pinero-Rodriguez et al, 2020), participate intensively in nutrient cycling (Carignan & Kalff, 1980;Wetzel, 2001;Wahl et al, 2021), produce biomass which is used by herbivores and detritivorous (Martinez et al, 2013;Peel et al, 2019;Franceschini et al, 2020) and provide habitat for other communities (Dibble et al, 2006;Dibble & Thomaz, 2009;Gething et al, 2020;Deosti et al, 2021), with consequences for higher trophic levels (Gomes et al, 2012;dos Santos et al, 2020;Paz Cardozo et al, 2021;Yofukuji et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecosystem services provided by freshwater macrophytes

Thomaz

2021

Hydrobiologia

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Macrophytes are considered key components of aquatic ecosystems and they also provide multiple benefits for humans. In this review, I identified and exemplified 26 types of ecosystem services provided by macrophytes. The most important supporting services provided by these plants are related to nutrient cycling and provisioning of habitat, but macrophytes also participate in water cycling and gases production. The presence of macrophytes and their activity enhance water purification and disease control which are important regulating services. Provisioning services are provided in the form of food at the local and global scale (e.g., rice), fiber, biochemicals, natural medicine and ornamental resources. Cultural services are provided in the form of spiritual and religious artifacts and local knowledge systems of communities which depend on macrophytes for surviving. Other cultural services are associated with educational activities, art inspiration, esthetic values in aquatic gardens and ponds, uses for leisure, recreation and ecotourism. There is evidence that the efficiency of ecosystem functioning, the provision of ecosystem services and ecosystem stability is enhanced by macrophyte diversity. Because macrophyte communities provide important benefits for humans, their conservation and restoration, where necessary, are important for human well-being.

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“…Harvesting directly affects the N and P cycles in the water. Currently, due to excess N, P, and other nutrients, submerged macrophytes overgrow and bloom in many lakes 7 . As the seasons change, the decomposition of many submerged macrophyte residues causes serious secondary pollution, which poses a great threat to the safety of aquatic ecosystems 8 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Potamogeton crispus harvesting on phosphorus composition of Lake Yimeng

Wang

Wu²,

Song³

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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Harvesting is an important method used to control the overproduction of Potamogeton crispus in lakes. A three-year comparative field study was performed in a eutrophic lake (harvested area) and its connected lake (non-harvested area) to determine the effects of harvesting on the phosphorus (P) composition and environmental factors in the water and sediment. Results revealed that harvesting significantly reduced the dissolved total P and dissolved organic P (DOP) and increased the alkaline phosphatase activity and particulate P (PP) in the water. No significant differences were detected in the water total P (TP), soluble reactive P, chlorophyll-a, pH, and dissolved oxygen between the harvested and non-harvested areas. Sediment TP and organic P (OP) were significantly reduced in the harvested area. Harvesting changed the P composition in the water. In the non-harvested area, P was mainly formed by DOP (40%) in the water body, while in the harvested area, PP was the main water component (47%). Harvesting increased the proportion of inorganic P (IP) in the sediment and decreased the proportion of OP. In the water, the IP to TP ratio in the non-harvested and harvested areas were 58.26% and 63.51%, respectively. Our results showed that harvesting changed the P composition in the water and sediment. In the harvesting of submerged vegetation, our results can serve as a reference for the management of vegetation-rich lakes.

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Impacts on freshwater macrophytes produced by small invertebrate herbivores: Afrotropical and Neotropical wetlands compared

Abstract: This document is the author's post-print version, incorporating any revisions agreed during the peer-review process. Some differences between the published version and this version may remain and you are advised to consult the published version if you wish to cite from it.

Cited by 11 publications

References 62 publications

Freshwater megafauna shape ecosystems and facilitate restoration

Freshwater megafauna shape ecosystems and facilitate restoration

Ecosystem services provided by freshwater macrophytes

Influence of Potamogeton crispus harvesting on phosphorus composition of Lake Yimeng

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