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Jane C. Marks

Bio: Jane C. Marks is an academic researcher from Northern Arizona University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Plant litter & Ecosystem. The author has an hindex of 32, co-authored 85 publications receiving 3877 citations. Previous affiliations of Jane C. Marks include Royal Victoria Infirmary & Bowling Green State University.


Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This framework could allow us to understand, for the first time, the genetic basis of ecosystem processes, and the effect of such phenomena as climate change and introduced transgenic organisms on entire communities.
Abstract: Can heritable traits in a single species affect an entire ecosystem? Recent studies show that such traits in a common tree have predictable effects on community structure and ecosystem processes. Because these 'community and ecosystem phenotypes' have a genetic basis and are heritable, we can begin to apply the principles of population and quantitative genetics to place the study of complex communities and ecosystems within an evolutionary framework. This framework could allow us to understand, for the first time, the genetic basis of ecosystem processes, and the effect of such phenomena as climate change and introduced transgenic organisms on entire communities.

1,034 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This study shows that leaf litter diversity has the capacity to affect in-stream decomposition rates and stream invertebrates, but that these effects depend on both litter quality and stream characteristics.
Abstract: SUMMARY 1. We examined the relative importance of litter quality and stream characteristics in determining decomposition rate and the macroinvertebrate assemblage living on autumnshed leaves. 2. We compared the decomposition rates of five native riparian tree species (Populus fremontii, Alnus oblongifolia, Platanus wrightii, Fraxinus velutina and Quercus gambelii) across three south-western streams in the Verde River catchment (Arizona, U.S.A.). We also compared the decomposition of three- and five-species mixtures to that of single species to test whether plant species diversity affects rate. 3. Decomposition rate was affected by both litter quality and stream. However, litter quality accounted for most of the variation in decomposition rates. The relative importance of litter quality decreased through time, explaining 97% of the variation in the first week but only 45% by week 8. We also found that leaf mixtures decomposed more quickly than expected, when all the species included were highly labile or when the stream environment led to relatively fast decomposition. 4. In contrast to decomposition rate, differences in the invertebrate assemblage were more pronounced across streams than across leaf litter species within a stream. We also found significant differences between the invertebrate assemblage colonising leaf mixtures compared with that colonising pure species litter, indicating non-additive properties of litter diversity on stream invertebrates. 5. This study shows that leaf litter diversity has the capacity to affect in-stream decomposition rates and stream invertebrates, but that these effects depend on both litter quality and stream characteristics.

226 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jun 2007-Ecology
TL;DR: The consistent differences between leaves and algae in deltaD among these four watersheds, along with the intermediate values in higher trophic levels, indicate that natural abundance hydrogen isotope signatures are a powerful tool for partitioning energy flow in aquatic ecosystems.
Abstract: Understanding river food webs requires distinguishing energy derived from primary production in the river itself (autochthonous) from that produced externally (allochthonous), yet there are no universally applicable and reliable techniques for doing so. We compared the natural abundance stable isotope ratios of hydrogen (dD) of allochthonous and autochthonous energy sources in four different aquatic ecosystems. We found that autochthonous organic matter is uniformly far more depleted in deuterium (lower dD values) than allochthonous: an average difference of ;100o. We also found that organisms at higher trophic levels, including both aquatic invertebrates and fish, have dD values intermediate between aquatic algae and terrestrial plants. The consistent differences between leaves and algae in dD among these four watersheds, along with the intermediate values in higher trophic levels, indicate that natural abundance hydrogen isotope signatures are a powerful tool for partitioning energy flow in aquatic ecosystems.

210 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: qSIP is demonstrated using soil incubations, in which soil bacteria exhibited strong taxonomic variations in 18O and 13C composition after exposure to [18O]water or [13C]glucose, demonstrating the benefit of a quantitative approach to stable isotope probing.
Abstract: Bacteria grow and transform elements at different rates, and as yet, quantifying this variation in the environment is difficult. Determining isotope enrichment with fine taxonomic resolution after exposure to isotope tracers could help, but there are few suitable techniques. We propose a modification to stable isotope probing (SIP) that enables the isotopic composition of DNA from individual bacterial taxa after exposure to isotope tracers to be determined. In our modification, after isopycnic centrifugation, DNA is collected in multiple density fractions, and each fraction is sequenced separately. Taxon-specific density curves are produced for labeled and nonlabeled treatments, from which the shift in density for each individual taxon in response to isotope labeling is calculated. Expressing each taxon's density shift relative to that taxon's density measured without isotope enrichment accounts for the influence of nucleic acid composition on density and isolates the influence of isotope tracer assimilation. The shift in density translates quantitatively to isotopic enrichment. Because this revision to SIP allows quantitative measurements of isotope enrichment, we propose to call it quantitative stable isotope probing (qSIP). We demonstrated qSIP using soil incubations, in which soil bacteria exhibited strong taxonomic variations in (18)O and (13)C composition after exposure to [(18)O]water or [(13)C]glucose. The addition of glucose increased the assimilation of (18)O into DNA from [(18)O]water. However, the increase in (18)O assimilation was greater than expected based on utilization of glucose-derived carbon alone, because the addition of glucose indirectly stimulated bacteria to utilize other substrates for growth. This example illustrates the benefit of a quantitative approach to stable isotope probing.

190 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Using dual-stable isotope probing, it is shown that changes in the diversity and composition of two functional bacterial groups occur with this ‘priming’ effect, with consequences for native soil C stability.
Abstract: Native soil carbon (C) can be lost in response to fresh C inputs, a phenomenon observed for decades yet still not understood. Using dual-stable isotope probing, we show that changes in the diversity and composition of two functional bacterial groups occur with this ‘priming’ effect. A single-substrate pulse suppressed native soil C loss and reduced bacterial diversity, whereas repeated substrate pulses stimulated native soil C loss and increased diversity. Increased diversity after repeated C amendments contrasts with resource competition theory, and may be explained by increased predation as evidenced by a decrease in bacterial 16S rRNA gene copies. Our results suggest that biodiversity and composition of the soil microbial community change in concert with its functioning, with consequences for native soil C stability.

140 citations


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01 Jan 1980
TL;DR: In this article, the influence of diet on the distribution of nitrogen isotopes in animals was investigated by analyzing animals grown in the laboratory on diets of constant nitrogen isotopic composition and found that the variability of the relationship between the δ^(15)N values of animals and their diets is greater for different individuals raised on the same diet than for the same species raised on different diets.
Abstract: The influence of diet on the distribution of nitrogen isotopes in animals was investigated by analyzing animals grown in the laboratory on diets of constant nitrogen isotopic composition. The isotopic composition of the nitrogen in an animal reflects the nitrogen isotopic composition of its diet. The δ^(15)N values of the whole bodies of animals are usually more positive than those of their diets. Different individuals of a species raised on the same diet can have significantly different δ^(15)N values. The variability of the relationship between the δ^(15)N values of animals and their diets is greater for different species raised on the same diet than for the same species raised on different diets. Different tissues of mice are also enriched in ^(15)N relative to the diet, with the difference between the δ^(15)N values of a tissue and the diet depending on both the kind of tissue and the diet involved. The δ^(15)N values of collagen and chitin, biochemical components that are often preserved in fossil animal remains, are also related to the δ^(15)N value of the diet. The dependence of the δ^(15)N values of whole animals and their tissues and biochemical components on the δ^(15)N value of diet indicates that the isotopic composition of animal nitrogen can be used to obtain information about an animal's diet if its potential food sources had different δ^(15)N values. The nitrogen isotopic method of dietary analysis probably can be used to estimate the relative use of legumes vs non-legumes or of aquatic vs terrestrial organisms as food sources for extant and fossil animals. However, the method probably will not be applicable in those modern ecosystems in which the use of chemical fertilizers has influenced the distribution of nitrogen isotopes in food sources. The isotopic method of dietary analysis was used to reconstruct changes in the diet of the human population that occupied the Tehuacan Valley of Mexico over a 7000 yr span. Variations in the δ^(15)C and δ^(15)N values of bone collagen suggest that C_4 and/or CAM plants (presumably mostly corn) and legumes (presumably mostly beans) were introduced into the diet much earlier than suggested by conventional archaeological analysis.

5,548 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The fundamental role of the biofilm matrix is considered, describing how the characteristic features of biofilms — such as social cooperation, resource capture and enhanced survival of exposure to antimicrobials — all rely on the structural and functional properties of the matrix.
Abstract: Bacterial biofilms are formed by communities that are embedded in a self-produced matrix of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). Importantly, bacteria in biofilms exhibit a set of 'emergent properties' that differ substantially from free-living bacterial cells. In this Review, we consider the fundamental role of the biofilm matrix in establishing the emergent properties of biofilms, describing how the characteristic features of biofilms - such as social cooperation, resource capture and enhanced survival of exposure to antimicrobials - all rely on the structural and functional properties of the matrix. Finally, we highlight the value of an ecological perspective in the study of the emergent properties of biofilms, which enables an appreciation of the ecological success of biofilms as habitat formers and, more generally, as a bacterial lifestyle.

3,277 citations

Book ChapterDOI
31 Jan 1963

2,885 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Recent developments in rhizosphere research are discussed in relation to assessing the contribution of the micro- and macroflora to sustainable agriculture, nature conservation, the development of bio-energy crops and the mitigation of climate change.
Abstract: The rhizosphere is the interface between plant roots and soil where interactions among a myriad of microorganisms and invertebrates affect biogeochemical cycling, plant growth and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress. The rhizosphere is intriguingly complex and dynamic, and understanding its ecology and evolution is key to enhancing plant productivity and ecosystem functioning. Novel insights into key factors and evolutionary processes shaping the rhizosphere microbiome will greatly benefit from integrating reductionist and systems-based approaches in both agricultural and natural ecosystems. Here, we discuss recent developments in rhizosphere research in relation to assessing the contribution of the micro- and macroflora to sustainable agriculture, nature conservation, the development of bio-energy crops and the mitigation of climate change.

2,332 citations