Cascading effects of predators on algal size structure

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison R. Rober ◽  
Kevin S. McCann ◽  
Merritt R. Turetsky ◽  
Kevin H. Wyatt
Keyword(s):  
Size Structure ◽  
Cascading Effects

scholarly journals Hunting pressure modulates the composition and size structure of terrestrial and arboreal vertebrates in Amazonian forests

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andressa B. Scabin ◽  
Carlos A. Peres
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Tropical Forests ◽  
Forest Canopy ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Size Structure ◽  
Management Policy ◽  
Primary Forest ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Hunting Pressure ◽  
Cascading Effects

AbstractOverhunting is a leading contemporary driver of tropical forest wildlife loss. The absence or extremely low densities of large-bodied vertebrates disrupts plant-animal mutualisms and consequently degrades key ecosystem services. Understanding patterns of defaunation is therefore crucial given that most tropical forests worldwide are now “half-empty”. Here we investigate changes in vertebrate community composition and size structure along a gradient of marked anthropogenic hunting pressure in the Médio Juruá region of western Brazilian Amazonia. Using a novel camera trapping grid design deployed both in the understorey and the forest canopy, we estimated the aggregate biomass of several functional groups of terrestrial and arboreal species at 28 sites along the hunting gradient. Generalized linear models (GLMs) identified hunting pressure as the most important driver of aggregate biomass for game, terrestrial, and arboreal species, as well as nocturnal rodents, frugivores, and granivores. Local hunting pressure affected vertebrate community structure as shown by both GLM and ordination analyses. The size structure of vertebrate fauna changed in heavily hunted areas due to population declines in large-bodied species and apparent compensatory increases in nocturnal rodents. Our study shows markedly altered vertebrate community structure even in remote but heavily settled areas of continuous primary forest. Depletion of frugivore and granivore populations, and concomitant density-compensation by seed predators, likely affect forest regeneration in persistently overhunted tropical forests. These findings contribute to a better understanding of how cascading effects induced by historical defaunation operate, informing wildlife management policy in tropical peri-urban, rural and wilderness areas.

scholarly journals Food Webs and Fish Size Patterns in Insular Lakes Partially Support Climate-Related Features in Continental Lakes

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 1380
Author(s):  
Nicolas Vidal ◽  
Susanne L. Amsinck ◽  
Vítor Gonçalves ◽  
José M. Neto Azevedo ◽  
Liselotte S. Johansson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Web ◽  
Size Structure ◽  
Fish Food ◽  
Fish Size ◽  
Cascading Effects ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Climatic Regions ◽  
Remote Island ◽  
Time Substitution ◽  
Warm Lakes

Disentangling the effects of climate change on nature is one of the main challenges facing ecologists nowadays. Warmer climates forces strong effects on lake biota for fish, leading to a reduction in size, changes in diet, more frequent reproduction, and stronger cascading effects. Space-for-time substitution studies (SFTS) are often used to unravel climate effects on lakes biota; however, results from continental lakes are potentially confounded by biogeographical and evolutionary differences, also leading to an overall higher fish species richness in warm lakes. Such differences may not be found in lakes on remote islands, where natural fish free lakes have been subjected to stocking only during the past few hundred years. We studied 20 species-poor lakes located in two remote island groups with contrasting climates, but similar seasonality: the Faroe Islands (cold; 6.5 ± 2.8 °C annual average (SD) and the Azores Islands (warm; 17.3 ± 2.9 °C)). As for mainland lakes, mean body size of fish in the warmer lakes were smaller overall, and phytoplankton per unit of phosphorus higher. The δ13C carbon range for basal organisms, and for the whole food web, appeared wider in colder lakes. In contrast to previous works in continental fresh waters, Layman metrics of the fish food web were similar between the two climatic regions. Our results from insular systems provide further evidence that ambient temperatures, at least partially, drive the changes in fish size structure and the cascading effects found along latitude gradients in lakes.

Structure and composition of metal particles in Pt-Sn/Al2O3 bimetallic catalysts

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 278-279
Author(s):  
A. Sachdev ◽  
J. Schwank
Keyword(s):  
Bimetallic Catalysts ◽  
Bimetallic Catalyst ◽  
Size Structure ◽  
High Surface ◽  
High Surface Area ◽  
Metal Particles ◽  
Alloy Formation ◽  
Particle Size Range ◽  
Oxide Supports ◽  
Petroleum Fractions

Platinum - tin bimetallic catalysts have been primarily utilized in the chemical industry in the catalytic reforming of petroleum fractions. In this process the naphtha feedstock is converted to hydrocarbons with higher octane numbers and high anti-knock qualities. Most of these catalysts contain small metal particles or crystallites supported on high surface area insulating oxide supports. The determination of the structure and composition of these particles is crucial to the understanding of the catalytic behavior. In a bimetallic catalyst it is important to know how the two metals are distributed within the particle size range and in what way the addition of a second metal affects the size, structure and composition of the metal particles. An added complication in the Pt-Sn system is the possibility of alloy formation between the two elements for all atomic ratios.

Cascading effects of fishing on Galapagos rocky reef communities

2007 ◽  
Vol 343 ◽  
pp. 77-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
JI Sonnenholzner ◽  
LB Ladah ◽  
KD Lafferty
Keyword(s):  
Rocky Reef ◽  
Cascading Effects ◽  
Reef Communities

Effects of marine reserves on predator-prey interactions in central California kelp forests

2020 ◽  
Vol 655 ◽  
pp. 139-155
Author(s):  
DC Yates ◽  
SI Lonhart ◽  
SL Hamilton
Keyword(s):  
Species Interactions ◽  
Size Structure ◽  
Marine Reserves ◽  
Mortality Rates ◽  
Kelp Forests ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Central California ◽  
Invertebrate Predators ◽  
Predatory Fishes ◽  
Density And Biomass

Marine reserves are often designed to increase density, biomass, size structure, and biodiversity by prohibiting extractive activities. However, the recovery of predators following the establishment of marine reserves and the consequent cessation of fishing may have indirect negative effects on prey populations by increasing prey mortality. We coupled field surveys with empirical predation assays (i.e. tethering experiments) inside and outside of 3 no-take marine reserves in kelp forests along the central California coast to quantify the strength of interactions between predatory fishes and their crustacean prey. Results indicated elevated densities and biomass of invertebrate predators inside marine reserves compared to nearby fished sites, but no significant differences in prey densities. The increased abundance of predators inside marine reserves translated to a significant increase in mortality of 2 species of decapod crustaceans, the dock shrimp Pandalus danae and the cryptic kelp crab Pugettia richii, in tethering experiments. Shrimp mortality rates were 4.6 times greater, while crab mortality rates were 7 times greater inside reserves. For both prey species, the time to 50% mortality was negatively associated with the density and biomass of invertebrate predators (i.e. higher mortality rates where predators were more abundant). Video analyses indicated that macro-invertivore fishes arrived 2 times faster to tethering arrays at sites inside marine reserves and began attacking tethered prey more rapidly. The results indicate that marine reserves can have direct and indirect effects on predators and their prey, respectively, and highlight the importance of considering species interactions in making management decisions.

Persistence of giants: population dynamics of the limpet Scutellastra laticostata on rocky shores in Western Australia

2020 ◽  
Vol 646 ◽  
pp. 79-92
Author(s):  
RE Scheibling ◽  
R Black
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Size Structure ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Maximum Size ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Adult Survival ◽  
Rocky Shores ◽  
Adult Size ◽  
Decadal Time Scale

Population dynamics and life history traits of the ‘giant’ limpet Scutellastra laticostata on intertidal limestone platforms at Rottnest Island, Western Australia, were recorded by interannual (January/February) monitoring of limpet density and size structure, and relocation of marked individuals, at 3 locations over periods of 13-16 yr between 1993 and 2020. Limpet densities ranged from 4 to 9 ind. m-2 on wave-swept seaward margins of platforms at 2 locations and on a rocky notch at the landward margin of the platform at a third. Juvenile recruits (25-55 mm shell length) were present each year, usually at low densities (<1 m-2), but localized pulses of recruitment occurred in some years. Annual survival rates of marked limpets varied among sites and cohorts, ranging from 0.42 yr-1 at the notch to 0.79 and 0.87 yr-1 on the platforms. A mass mortality of limpets on the platforms occurred in 2003, likely mediated by thermal stress during daytime low tides, coincident with high air temperatures and calm seas. Juveniles grew rapidly to adult size within 2 yr. Asymptotic size (L∞, von Bertalanffy growth model) ranged from 89 to 97 mm, and maximum size from 100 to 113 mm, on platforms. Growth rate and maximum size were lower on the notch. Our empirical observations and simulation models suggest that these populations are relatively stable on a decadal time scale. The frequency and magnitude of recruitment pulses and high rate of adult survival provide considerable inertia, enabling persistence of these populations in the face of sporadic climatic extremes.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document