scholarly journals Soft-Sediment Communities of the Northern Indian River Lagoon, FL, United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Lunt ◽  
Christopher J. Freeman ◽  
Dean S. Janiak ◽  
Katrina Bayliss ◽  
Michelle Stephens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Indian River Lagoon ◽  
Interspecific Variation ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Brown Tide ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Infaunal Community ◽  
Indian River ◽  
And Function

Understanding the structure and function of infaunal communities is useful in determining the biodiversity and ecosystem function of shallow estuaries. We conducted a survey of infaunal communities within three separate water basins [Mosquito Lagoon (ML), Indian River (IR), and Banana River (BR)] in the larger Northern Indian River Lagoon, FL, United States to establish a database of infaunal community structure and function. Twenty-seven sites were sampled quarterly from 2014 to 2016. Analysis of all samples determined that basin, season, and sediment composition were the primary drivers of macrobenthic community composition. Diversity was highest in the ML, and lower in spring compared to other seasons. The occurrence of a brown tide (Aureoumbra lagunensis) in 2016 allowed a comparison of winter and spring communities before (2015) and during (2016) a bloom event. Community composition and diversity at the BR sites were the most affected by the bloom event with the lowest diversity and abundances during the bloom. Diversity in the IR was also lower during the bloom, while the ML was unaffected by the bloom. Species of all feeding groups were affected by the bloom, with lower abundances found in all groups. In addition, to determine the overall trophic diversity of infaunal communities, we collected infaunal organisms from two of the quarterly sampled sites for isotope analyses. Values of δ13C and δ15N from infaunal tissue were compared to those of potential food sources at each site. Substantial interspecific variation in isotope values of infaunal organisms within a site suggests the presence of diverse nutritional modes that include suspension and deposit feeding and predation. Together, these data suggest that infaunal communities contribute to benthic pelagic coupling and nutrient cycling within the estuarine communities, but the overall function of these communities may be tightly linked to their species composition.

scholarly journals Bivalve Feeding on the Brown Tide Aureoumbra lagunensis in a Shallow Coastal Environment

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eve Galimany ◽  
Jessica Lunt ◽  
Christopher J. Freeman ◽  
I. Segura-García ◽  
M. Mossop ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clearance Rate ◽  
Indian River Lagoon ◽  
Brown Tide ◽  
Bivalve Species ◽  
Clearance Rates ◽  
Interspecific Differences ◽  
Brown Tides ◽  
Indian River ◽  
Aureoumbra Lagunensis ◽  
Fish And Shellfish

Brown tides formed by Aureoumbra lagunensis decrease light penetration in the water column and are often followed by hypoxic events that result in the loss of fish and shellfish. To understand the ability of bivalve filter feeders to control and prevent A. lagunensis blooms, we exposed eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica), hooked mussels (Ischadium recurvum), and hard clams (Mercenaria mercenaria) to a naturally co-occurring brown tide in the Indian River Lagoon (IRL), Florida, United States. Bivalves were exposed in the laboratory to multiple concentrations (104 to 106 cells mL–1) of isotopically labeled (13C and 15N) A. lagunensis cells. The standard clearance rate (herein clearance rate) of each bivalve species was calculated using flow cytometry to quantify A. lagunensis cell removal. The highest clearance rates were at 104 cells mL–1, but values varied across bivalve species (2.16 ± 0.30, 3.03 ± 0.58, and 0.41 ± 0.12 L h–1 for C. virginica, I. recurvum, and M. mercenaria, respectively). Although clearance rates decreased with increasing bloom concentrations, bivalves were still consuming algal cells at all concentrations and were retaining and assimilating more cells at the highest concentrations, as revealed by δ13C and δ15N values. We highlight interspecific differences among bivalve species in the removal of A. lagunensis, supporting the importance of healthy and diverse filter feeding communities in estuaries, especially as threats of brown tides and other HABs are increasing in the Anthropocene.

scholarly journals Understanding Early Elementary Children's Conceptual Knowledge of Plant Structure and Function through Drawings

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 375-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janice L. Anderson ◽  
Jane P. Ellis ◽  
Alan M. Jones
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Conceptual Understanding ◽  
Conceptual Knowledge ◽  
Southeastern United States ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Plant Structure ◽  
Children's Drawings ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Children’S Drawings ◽  
And Function

This study examined children's drawings to explain children's conceptual understanding of plant structure and function. The study explored whether the children's drawings accurately reflect their conceptual understanding about plants in a manner that can be interpreted by others. Drawing, survey, interview, and observational data were collected from 182 students in grades K and 1 in rural southeastern United States. Results demonstrated the children held a wide range of conceptions concerning plant structure and function. These young children held very simple ideas about plants with respect to both their structure and function. Consistent with the drawings, the interviews presented similar findings.

An Analysis of US State Regulated Weed Lists: A Discordance between Biology and Policy

BioScience ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (9) ◽  
pp. 804-813
Author(s):  
Vasiliy T Lakoba ◽  
Rachel K Brooks ◽  
David C Haak ◽  
Jacob N Barney
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Global Change ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Invasive Plants ◽  
Food Supply ◽  
The United States ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Comprehensive Analysis ◽  
And Function ◽  
Unique Species

Abstract Weedy and invasive plants threaten our food supply, native biodiversity, and the structure and function of ecosystems. The number and impact of these damaging plants are expected to continue to grow with ongoing global change. Some of the most common policy tools to help mitigate this threat are regulatory weed lists, which limit the importation and movement of listed plant species, but there has never been a comprehensive analysis of plants regulated in the United States. We analyzed US state regulatory lists (e.g., noxious, invasive, prohibited) to evaluate their composition, patterns of listing, congruities with weed distributions, and limitations. In total, 46 states maintain regulatory weed lists that include 3210 total listings of 1249 unique species; 48% of them are introduced, 40% are native, and 12% are not yet found in the United States. Overall, the listed species are not a good reflection of the weeds in each state, and listing appears largely reactive, regulating species after they become widespread. We highlight patterns and incongruities among lists and discuss their implications, especially the large number of regulated species native to the United States.

scholarly journals Drought and Plant Community Composition Affect the Metabolic and Genotypic Diversity of Pseudomonas Strains in Grassland Soils

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 1677
Author(s):  
Claudia Breitkreuz ◽  
Thomas Reitz ◽  
Elke Schulz ◽  
Mika Tarkka
Keyword(s):  
Community Composition ◽  
Plant Community ◽  
Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria ◽  
Genotypic Diversity ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Plant Community Composition ◽  
Highly Active ◽  
Plant Growth Promoting ◽  
Phosphate Solubilizing ◽  
And Function

Climate and plant community composition (PCC) modulate the structure and function of microbial communities. In order to characterize how the functional traits of bacteria are affected, important plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria of grassland soil communities, pseudomonads, were isolated from a grassland experiment and phylogenetically and functionally characterized. The Miniplot experiment was implemented to examine the mechanisms underlying grassland ecosystem changes due to climate change, and it investigates the sole or combined impact of drought and PCC (plant species with their main distribution either in SW or NE Europe, and a mixture of these species). We observed that the proportion and phylogenetic composition of nutrient-releasing populations of the Pseudomonas community are affected by prolonged drought periods, and to a minor extent by changes in plant community composition, and that these changes underlie seasonality effects. Our data also partly showed concordance between the metabolic activities and 16S phylogeny. The drought-induced shifts in functional Pseudomonas community traits, phosphate and potassium solubilization and siderophore production did not follow a unique pattern. Whereas decreased soil moisture induced a highly active phosphate-solubilizing community, the siderophore-producing community showed the opposite response. In spite of this, no effect on potassium solubilization was detected. These results suggest that the Pseudomonas community quickly responds to drought in terms of structure and function, the direction of the functional response is trait-specific, and the extent of the response is affected by plant community composition.

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