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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
An Invasive Riparian Tree Reduces Stream Ecosystem Efficiency Via A Recalcitrant Organic Matter Subsidy, Madeline M. Mineau, Colden V. Baxter, Amy Marcarelli, G. Wayne Minshall
An Invasive Riparian Tree Reduces Stream Ecosystem Efficiency Via A Recalcitrant Organic Matter Subsidy, Madeline M. Mineau, Colden V. Baxter, Amy Marcarelli, G. Wayne Minshall
Amy Marcarelli
A disturbance, such as species invasion, can alter the exchange of materials and organisms between ecosystems, with potential consequences for the function of both ecosystems. Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) is an exotic tree invading riparian corridors in the western United States, and may alter stream organic matter budgets by increasing allochthonous litter and by reducing light via shading, in turn decreasing in-stream primary production. We used a before-after invasion comparison spanning 35 years to show that Russian olive invasion increased allochthonous litter nearly 25-fold to an invaded vs. a control reach of a stream, and we found that this litter …
Quantity And Quality: Unifying Food Web And Ecosystem Perspectives On The Role Of Resource Subsidies In Freshwaters, Amy Marcarelli, Colden V. Baxter, Madeleine Mineau, Robert O. Hall Jr.
Quantity And Quality: Unifying Food Web And Ecosystem Perspectives On The Role Of Resource Subsidies In Freshwaters, Amy Marcarelli, Colden V. Baxter, Madeleine Mineau, Robert O. Hall Jr.
Amy Marcarelli
Although the study of resource subsidies has emerged as a key topic in both ecosystem and food web ecology, the dialogue over their role has been limited by separate approaches that emphasize either subsidy quantity or quality. Considering quantity and quality together may provide a simple, but previously unexplored, framework for identifying the mechanisms that govern the importance of subsidies for recipient food webs and ecosystems. Using a literature review of >90 studies of open-water metabolism in lakes and streams, we show that high-flux, low-quality subsidies can drive freshwater ecosystem dynamics. Because most of these ecosystems are net heterotrophic, allochthonous …