Effects of nutrient enrichment on primary and secondary productivity in a subtropical floodplain system: an experimental approach

In this study, we evaluated the effects of nutrient enrichment on primary and secondary productivity, the relationship between these ecosystem processes, and the relationship between the resources of zooplankton community in response to ecosystem processes, experimentally. The experimental design wa...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Hydrobiologia 2019, Vol.827 (1), p.171-181
Main Authors: de Melo, Thais Xavier, Dias, Juliana Déo, Simões, Nadson Ressyé, Bonecker, Claudia Costa
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aquatic crustaceans
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Community structure
Design of experiments
Dominant species
Ecology
Ecosystems
Eutrophication
Experimental design
Exploitation
Floodplains
Freshwater & Marine Ecology
Life Sciences
Mineral nutrients
Nutrient concentrations
Nutrient enrichment
Nutrients
Plankton
Primary production
Primary Research Paper
Productivity
Secondary productivity
Zoology
Zooplankton
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In this study, we evaluated the effects of nutrient enrichment on primary and secondary productivity, the relationship between these ecosystem processes, and the relationship between the resources of zooplankton community in response to ecosystem processes, experimentally. The experimental design was randomized, with three levels of nutrient replicated three times, giving a total of nine experimental units, for a period of 30 days (November–December, 2013). We measured primary productivity, secondary productivity, and zooplankton community structure, at the beginning and after every seven days of the experiment. Primary and secondary productivity increased with nutrient enrichment. Secondary productivity was supported by a few dominant species with ecologically selected traits, especially large-bodied zooplankton (copepods and large cladocerans). Nutrient enrichment turned the relationship between primary and secondary productivity from positive to negative and intensified the biotic process of competition because of exploitation by zooplankton populations, favoring an increase in the dominance of large microcrustaceans. This reflects the initial effects of a moderate eutrophication. At a larger temporal scale and at higher nutrient concentrations, effects of higher magnitude are expected, which may disrupt the whole community, resulting in the loss of ecosystem processes.
ISSN:0018-8158
1573-5117
DOI:10.1007/s10750-018-3763-0