Article
Environmental Sciences
Min Kyoung Jung, Tae Yeon Yin, Seung Joo Moon, Jaeyeon Park, Eun Young Yoon
Summary: The genus Oxyrrhis is a heterotrophic dinoflagellate found in diverse marine environments, with Oxyrrhis spp. having ecological and industrial importance, high lipid contents, and docosahexaenoic acid formation. This study compared the ecophysiology of four strains of O. marina and two strains of O. maritima, revealing that O. maritima has greater tolerance to high salinity. This provides insights into the population dynamics of O. marina and O. maritima in marine ecosystems.
Article
Ecology
Eric K. Moody, Tyler J. Butts, Rachel Fleck, Punidan D. Jeyasingh, Grace M. Wilkinson
Summary: Microevolution can impact higher levels of ecological organization, with human activities playing a role in driving rapid divergence among populations. The study on the trait variation in Daphnia due to cultural eutrophication in temperate lakes reveals potential trade-offs, mediated by genetic variation, in performance at different phosphorus levels. These results suggest the importance of considering evolutionary change in ecosystem models when forecasting the effects of anthropogenic environmental changes on crucial ecosystem services, especially in eutrophic freshwater ecosystems worldwide.
FRESHWATER BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Joost J. Vogels, Dedmer B. Van de Waal, Michiel F. WallisDeVries, Arnold B. Van den Burg, Marijn Nijssen, Roland Bobbink, Matty P. Berg, Harry Olde Venterink, Henk Siepel
Summary: Nitrogen deposition has increased significantly due to human activities since the second half of the 20th century, leading to major implications for ecosystem functioning and the decline of insects. However, the mechanistic understanding of the effects of high N deposition on individual fitness and community structure of consumers is currently lacking.
BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Mingjun Feng, Haowu Cheng, Peiyu Zhang, Kang Wang, Tao Wang, Huan Zhang, Huan Wang, Libin Zhou, Jun Xu, Min Zhang
Summary: The balance of stoichiometric traits of organisms is important for nutrient cycling and energy flow in ecosystems. The impacts of different drivers on stoichiometric variations of organisms have not been well addressed. A mesocosm experiment was conducted to explore the impacts of warming, eutrophication, herbicide, and their interactions on stoichiometric traits of organisms at different trophic levels. Results showed that warming and eutrophication significantly affected the stoichiometric traits of organisms at lower trophic levels, while herbicide had no significant impacts. The stoichiometric stability of organisms was strongly correlated with their trophic levels.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Review
Microbiology
Constanze Kuhlisch, Adva Shemi, Noa Barak-Gavish, Daniella Schatz, Assaf Vardi
Summary: The cycling of major nutrients in the ocean is influenced by large-scale phytoplankton blooms, which are hot spots of microbial life. Microbial interactions, mediated by chemical crosstalk, play a crucial role in determining the type and outcome of these interactions. These interactions between microorganisms and algae are dependent on the environmental context.
NATURE REVIEWS MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Albert Calbet, Rodrigo Andres Martinez, Enric Saiz, Miquel Alcaraz
Summary: This study investigated the mechanisms controlling the physiological response to thermal stress in Gyrodinium dominans and two strains of Oxyrrhis marina. The results showed that the responses to temperature varied among different species and even among strains of the same species.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Genevieve D'Avignon, Sophia S. H. Hsu, Irene Gregory-Eaves, Anthony Ricciardi
Summary: Plastics are widely present in aquatic ecosystems and interact with organisms through trophic and non-trophic activities. Understanding these interactions is important for monitoring and assessing the risks of microplastics. In this study, the uptake and transfer of microplastics in a benthic food web were investigated using different freshwater animals.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Michal Filipiak, Morgan W. Shields, Sarah M. Cairns, Megan N. C. Grainger, Stephen D. Wratten
Summary: This study found that plants may actively regulate the potassium and sodium ratio in pollen to affect interactions with pollinivorous pollinators. These findings broaden the understanding of plant-bee interactions and provide a foundation for a better understanding of the role of the soil-plant-pollen-pollinator pathway in nutrient cycling in ecosystems.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Maria N. Lescano, Carolina Quintero, Alejandro G. Farji-Brener, Esteban Balseiro
Summary: Enhanced soil nutrient availability brings plant carbon:nutrient ratio closer to the requirements of herbivores, benefiting their performance. However, excessive nutrient surplus can lead to poor plant quality and indirect costs for herbivores. This study explores the effects of soil nutrient enhancement on aphid performance and ant attraction, highlighting the importance of evaluating the ecological costs and benefits of increasing soil nutrient availability in mutualistic interactions.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Juliana Balluffi-Fry, Shawn J. Leroux, Yolanda F. Wiersma, Isabella C. Richmond, Travis R. Heckford, Matteo Rizzuto, Joanie L. Kennah, Eric Vander Wal
Summary: Intraspecific feeding choices play a significant role in herbivore foraging decisions. Herbivores respond to plant quality variation based on nutritional and energetic demands. Plant growing conditions can influence herbivore body conditions, but the interactions between plants and herbivores are also mediated by energetic statistics.
Article
Ecology
Moshe Zaguri, Shani Kandel, Noa Lavie, Dror Hawlena
Summary: Trophic interactions are crucial for ecosystem functioning. Different extraction and quantification methods for nutrients have varying precision and accuracy, yet ecologists often overlook these limitations and their implications for research and theory.
Article
Plant Sciences
Martin Westermann, Christian Hoischen, Lars Woehlbrand, Ralf Rabus, Erhard Rhiel
Summary: The study investigated the immunosignals and abundances of two rhodopsins in Oxyrrhis marina under different light conditions and feeding preferences. The results showed that the rhodopsin levels and immunosignals varied depending on the light quality and prey quality.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Lie Xiao, Guobin Liu, Peng Li, Sha Xue
Summary: The study investigated the ecological stoichiometric interactions among plants, soils, and enzymes in the rhizosphere and their effects on secondary plant succession. Results indicated that rhizosphere stoichiometry is a powerful tool for evaluating plant-soil interactions in terrestrial ecosystems.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Shaochun Xu, Yi Zhou, Pengmei Wang, Feng Wang, Xiaomei Zhang, Shidong Yue, Yu Zhang, Yongliang Qiao, Mingjie Liu
Summary: Seagrasses, like eelgrass, play a key role in coastal ecosystems by cycling elements. Eelgrass tissues in northern China showed variable elemental contents with seasonal trends and spatial variations in isotope content. The study identified leaf sheaths as a potentially valuable indicator for ecological research in seagrass ecosystems.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Boris A. Levin, Aleksandra S. Komarova, Oksana L. Rozanova, Alexander S. Golubtsov
Summary: This study reveals that scraper ecomorphs within the genus Labeobarbus exhibit different feeding modes, including periphyton-eating, herbivory-detritivory, and insectivory. The parallel divergence of sympatric ecomorphs with distinct feeding modes was identified in two geographically isolated basins. Significant differences in delta 15N values among sympatric scraper ecomorphs indicate the utilization of periphyton as a protein-rich food source by fishes.
Article
Limnology
Areti Balkoni, Maite S. Guignard, Maarten Boersma, Karen Helen Wiltshire
Summary: To avoid biased results, it is important to consider the mathematical properties of nutrient ratios when choosing an averaging method. This study estimated the ratios of dissolved inorganic nitrogen to dissolved inorganic phosphorus using long-term ecological data from three sites in the German Bight and compared different measures of central tendency. The results showed that the arithmetic mean of raw data exaggerated the importance of phosphorus-deficient conditions, while the geometric mean and the arithmetic mean of log-transformed ratios were reliable calculations. However, the median was the most robust method for averaging nutrient ratios for skewed data.
FUNDAMENTAL AND APPLIED LIMNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Florian Lueskow, Maarten Boersma, Pablo J. Lopez-Gonzalez, Evgeny A. Pakhomov
Summary: This study examined the organic content, elemental composition and energy content of freshwater hydrozoan jellyfish and compared them with their marine counterparts and other co-occurring zooplankton. Molecular analysis revealed two closely related sequences in North America. The results showed that freshwater jellyfish are stoichiometrically and energetically different from marine jellyfish, highlighting their higher importance in freshwater food webs.
JOURNAL OF PLANKTON RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Fisheries
Arne M. Malzahn, Andrea Villena-Rodriguez, Oscar Monroig, Asmund Johansen, L. Filipe C. Castro, Juan C. Navarro, Andreas Hagemann
Summary: This study evaluated the effects of rearing temperature and mixtures of aquaculture and biogas side streams on the biomass production and fatty acid composition of the polychaete Hediste diversicolor. The results showed that temperature significantly affected the biomass production, with higher temperatures promoting higher growth rates but lower survival rates. The diet had a significant effect on the fatty acid composition of the polychaetes. Therefore, optimizing the production temperature can enhance the growth of H. diversicolor without compromising the fatty acid composition and quality.
Editorial Material
Limnology
Herwig Stibor, Maarten Boersma, Barbara Santer, Ulrich Sommer, Lawrence J. Weider
FUNDAMENTAL AND APPLIED LIMNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Fisheries
J. Di Pane, M. Boersma, R. Marques, M. Deschamps, U. Ecker, C. L. Meunier
Summary: This study examined the temporal dynamics of the mesozooplankton community structure over the last five decades at Helgoland Roads, considering all taxa (holo- and meroplankton) sampled. Two tipping years were identified, indicating stable changes in the planktonic community across different organisms.
ICES JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Cedric L. Meunier, Maarten Boersma, Steven A. J. Declerck, Cecilia Laspoumaderes
Summary: Understanding the nutritional requirements and sensitivity of herbivores and carnivores to suboptimal resource quality is crucial in ecology. Herbivores are more affected by variations in resource quality than carnivores, leading to differences in coping mechanisms. Our study predicts that herbivores can maintain stoichiometric homeostasis over a broader range of resource stoichiometry compared to carnivores. It also suggests that the threshold elemental ratio and knife-edge response differ between herbivores and carnivores, indicating a higher sensitivity to diet quality in carnivores and herbivores. Documenting the impact of resource quality on consumer fitness can enhance our understanding of community composition and food web functioning.
Article
Microbiology
Chandni Sidhu, Inga V. Kirstein, Cedric L. Meunier, Johannes Rick, Vera Fofonova, Karen H. Wiltshire, Nicola Steinke, Silvia Vidal-Melgosa, Jan-Hendrik Hehemann, Bruno Huettel, Thomas Schweder, Bernhard M. Fuchs, Rudolf I. Amann, Hanno Teeling
Summary: This study reveals the important role of marine microalgae blooms in global carbon cycling and identifies two major dissolved polysaccharide substrates. Furthermore, the study suggests that bacterial cell death and the recycling of bacterial glycans can significantly impact the composition of bacterial plankton communities during phytoplankton blooms.
Article
Fisheries
M. M. Deschamps, M. Boersma, C. L. Meunier, I. Kirstein, K. H. Wiltshire, J. Di Pane
Summary: This study examines the changes in copepod functional community in the North Sea over the past five decades and finds that the functional structure has shifted, possibly due to higher water temperatures, lower dinoflagellate abundances, and lower nutrient concentrations. These changes could have significant ecological impacts on adjacent trophic levels.
ICES JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Limnology
Susanne Menden-Deuer, Julia C. Mullarney, Maarten Boersma, Hans-Peter Grossart, Ryan Sponseller, Sarah Ann Woodin
Summary: Climate change is causing rapid and intense changes in aquatic communities and habitats. Previous research has focused on direct effects, while indirect and interactive effects have been overlooked. This overview of a special issue in Limnology and Oceanography addresses this knowledge gap, covering diverse habitats and emphasizing the importance of maintaining time-series data to identify indirect effects. Species-specific characteristics and habitat changes are also highlighted as key factors in understanding aquatic ecosystem responses. The results provide valuable insights for tackling the combined impacts of climate change and human activities on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.
LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Jan D. Bruewer, Luis H. Orellana, Chandni Sidhu, Helena C. L. Klip, Cedric L. Meunier, Maarten Boersma, Karen H. Wiltshire, Rudolf Amann, Bernhard M. Fuchs
Summary: This study combined fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and dilution culture experiments to determine cell division and mortality rates of four bacterial taxa during phytoplankton blooms. The results showed a tight coupling between cell division and mortality rates for all four taxa, and indicated that 90% of bacterial production is recycled within 1 day. Determining taxon-specific cell division rates provides valuable insights into microbial growth strategies and ecological controls.
Article
Fisheries
Verena Merk, Tanja Hausen, Timon Ameis, Berenger Colsoul, Maarten Boersma, Bernadette Pogoda
Summary: This study tested three different concentrations and immersion times of calcein for growth marking and potential negative effects on European oyster shells. The results showed that calcein is a reliable marker for measuring oyster growth, with no negative effects observed on growth and survival when used at a concentration of 100 mg l(-1) or higher and immersion times of 6 hours or more.
AQUATIC LIVING RESOURCES
(2023)
Article
Limnology
Hugo Duarte Moreno, Sebastian Rokitta, Nelly Tremblay, Maarten Boersma, Elisabeth Gross, Helena C. L. Klip, Karen H. Wiltshire, Cedric L. Meunier
Summary: This study investigates the individual and combined effects of temperature, pCO(2), and N:P ratio on the physiology of the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum. The results show that temperature is the most influential factor, causing oxidative stress and lower activity of antioxidant enzymes. Additionally, higher photosynthetic rate, lower dark respiration rate, and higher DOC exudation were observed under warmer conditions and higher pCO(2), resulting in cells with lower carbon content.
LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Le Liu, Hui Zhang, Xia Liu, Yun Li, Maarten Boersma, Libin Zhou, Feizhou Chen
Summary: The growth of herbivore consumers in freshwater ecosystems is influenced by food quality and quantity, specifically the seston concentration, seston phosphorus, and seston carbon: phosphorus ratio. Higher seston concentration and phosphorus levels, along with a lower carbon: phosphorus ratio, are associated with higher growth rates. The growth rate is also affected by the biomass of cryptophyte algae, indicating the importance of food composition. Low carbon: phosphorus ratio should be considered carefully when assessing the development of herbivore consumers in natural lakes.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Rebecca Piontek, Cornelia Jaspers, Maarten Boersma, Alexander Arkhipkin
Summary: Zooplankton communities and their seasonal variations off the Falkland Islands have not been previously studied. This research provides the first assessment of mesozooplankton biomass in the region and highlights the importance of zooplankton composition and biomass for fish communities and fisheries yields. The study also reveals seasonal patterns and ontogenetic behavior of certain species, which are significantly influenced by temperature.
REGIONAL STUDIES IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Katja J. Geiger, Julio Arrontes, Antonella Rivera, Consolacion Fernandez, Jorge Alvarez, Jose Luis Acuna
Summary: A two-year experiment was conducted to investigate the impact of Pollicipes pollicipes harvest on intertidal community structure and ecological diversity. The study found that intensive exploitation resulted in a decrease in P. pollicipes and Mytilus spp. coverage, while Chthamalus spp. and Corallina spp. increased. The recovery of P. pollicipes aggregations was slow and variable, but their coverage increased under non-extracted conditions.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL MARINE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Ecology
Daniel Castro Martignago, Leandro Godoy, Amanda Pereira Amaral, Guendalina Turcato Oliveira
Summary: This study evaluates the effects of bleaching on the oocytes of the Mussismilia harttii coral and investigates the strategies employed by these cells to maintain antioxidant balance and cellular homeostasis. The research finds that bleached coral oocytes experience lipid damage, but are still able to maintain their quality and potentially elongate their lifespan and fertilization capability. This response may be linked to an intensification of heterotrophy in bleached corals.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL MARINE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY
(2024)
