Autumn leaf subsidies influence spring dynamics of freshwater plankton communities

Oecologia
Samuel B FeyKathryn L Cottingham

Abstract

While ecologists primarily focus on the immediate impact of ecological subsidies, understanding the importance of ecological subsidies requires quantifying the long-term temporal dynamics of subsidies on recipient ecosystems. Deciduous leaf litter transferred from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems exerts both immediate and lasting effects on stream food webs. Recently, deciduous leaf additions have also been shown to be important subsidies for planktonic food webs in ponds during autumn; however, the inter-seasonal effects of autumn leaf subsidies on planktonic food webs have not been studied. We hypothesized that autumn leaf drop will affect the spring dynamics of freshwater pond food webs by altering the availability of resources, water transparency, and the metabolic state of ponds. We created leaf-added and no-leaf-added field mesocosms in autumn 2012, allowed mesocosms to ice-over for the winter, and began sampling the physical, chemical, and biological properties of mesocosms immediately following ice-off in spring 2013. At ice-off, leaf additions reduced dissolved oxygen, elevated total phosphorus concentrations and dissolved materials, and did not alter temperature or total nitrogen. These initial abiotic effects contri...Continue Reading

References

Jan 3, 2001·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·S Nakano, M Murakami
Apr 29, 2006·Ecology Letters·Jonathan J ColeJames R Hodgson
Jul 25, 2009·Nature·Jan KarlssonMats Jansson
May 9, 2014·PloS One·Nicholas D HiggsDaniel O B Jones
Jul 9, 2014·Ecology·Patrick T KellyStuart E Jones

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Citations

Mar 5, 2016·Ecology Letters·Maria AlpAntoine Lecerf

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