Ecological network analysis of traits reveals variable response capacity to stress

Response diversity increases the potential 'options' for ecological communities to respond to stress (i.e. response capacity). An indicator of community response diversity is the diversity of different traits associated with their capacity to be resistant to stress, to recover and to regul...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Proceedings of the Royal Society. B, Biological sciences Biological sciences, 2023-05, Vol.290 (1998), p.20230403-20230403
Main Authors:	Gladstone-Gallagher, Rebecca V, Hewitt, Judi E, Siwicka, Ewa, Gammal, Johanna M, Brustolin, Marco C, Norkko, Alf, Pilditch, Conrad A, Thrush, Simon F
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Biota Ecology Ecosystem Environmental Monitoring Estuaries Eutrophication Geologic Sediments - analysis
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Response diversity increases the potential 'options' for ecological communities to respond to stress (i.e. response capacity). An indicator of community response diversity is the diversity of different traits associated with their capacity to be resistant to stress, to recover and to regulate ecosystem functions. We conducted a network analysis of traits using benthic macroinvertebrate community data from a large-scale field experiment to explore the loss of response diversity along environmental gradients. We elevated sediment nutrient concentrations (a process that occurs with eutrophication) at 24 sites (in 15 estuaries) with varying environmental conditions (water column turbidity and sediment properties). Macroinvertebrate community response capacity to nutrient stress was dependent on the baseline trait network complexity in the ambient community (i.e. non-enriched sediments). The greater the complexity of the baseline network, the less variable the network response to nutrient stress was; in contrast, more variable responses to nutrient stress occurred with simpler networks. Thus, stressors or environmental variables that shift baseline network complexity also shift the capacity for these ecosystems to respond to additional stressors. Empirical studies that explore the mechanisms responsible for loss of resilience are essential to inform our ability to predict changes in ecological states.
ISSN:	0962-8452 1471-2954