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Temperature and nutrients drive eco-phenotypic dynamics in a microbial food web
Ze-Yi Han1, Daniel J Wieczynski1, Andrea Yammine1
1Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|February 1, 2023
Summary
Rising temperatures and nutrient pollution jointly impact food webs, especially at higher trophic levels. Rapid phenotypic changes mediate these ecological responses, influencing food web stability in a changing environment.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Environmental Science
- Evolutionary Biology
Background:
- Anthropogenic climate change and nutrient enrichment are altering aquatic ecosystems.
- The independent impacts of temperature and nutrients on food webs are known, but their combined effects on ecological and phenotypic dynamics are poorly understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To experimentally investigate the joint effects of temperature and nutrient loads on microbial food web structure and stability.
- To quantify the reciprocal interactions between ecological and phenotypic dynamics under manipulated environmental conditions.
Main Methods:
- Experimental manipulation of temperature and nutrient levels in controlled microbial food webs.
- Time-series analysis to assess the strength and direction of ecological and phenotypic feedback loops.
Main Results:
- Joint effects of temperature and nutrients on ecological dynamics were more pronounced at higher trophic levels.
- Temperature and nutrient interactions altered the balance between top-down and bottom-up ecological control.
- Phenotypic plasticity and rapid evolutionary changes were key mediators of food web responses to environmental shifts.
Conclusions:
- The interplay between ecological and phenotypic dynamics is crucial for understanding food web responses to global change.
- Combined effects of warming and nutrient pollution can lead to complex, interactive shifts in food web stability.
- Future predictions of food web dynamics must account for rapid eco-phenotypic feedbacks driven by environmental change.
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