Journal ArticleDOI
Grazers and Nutrients Simultaneously Limit Lotic Primary Productivity
TLDR
Although nutrient effects on periphyton ash-free dry mass were statistically insignificant, nutrient additions significantly increased chlorophyll a, especially where snails were excluded, and Photosynthesis–irradiance data suggested that nutrient enrichment increased self-shading in the peripHYton.Abstract:
Nitrate and phosphate were added to two of four flow through channels in a second-order stream in eastern Tennessee to raise nutrient concentrations to 3–4 times background, while two of four sets of colonized ceramic tiles in each channel were raised above the substratum to exclude grazing snails (Elimia clavaeformis). Snail grazing maintained a thin layer of periphyton dominated by Stigeoclonium basal cells, regardless of nutrient regime. Although nutrient effects on periphyton ash-free dry mass were statistically insignificant, nutrient additions significantly increased chlorophyll a, especially where snails were excluded. Snail densities were 89% higher in nutrient-enriched channels. Photosynthesis–irradiance data suggested that nutrient enrichment increased self-shading in the periphyton. Areal-specific productivity was simultaneously limited by grazing and low nutrient concentrations: snail exclusion and nutrient enrichment both increased productivity > 2 times. The negative effect of snails on area...read more
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Journal ArticleDOI
The role of macroinvertebrates in stream ecosystem function.
J. B. Wallace,Jackson R. Webster +1 more
TL;DR: This review focuses on some of the roles of macroinvertebrate functional groups, i.e. grazers, shredders, gatherers, filterers, and predators, in stream-ecosystem processes, and the importance of their conservation.
Journal ArticleDOI
Mollusks as ecosystem engineers: the role of shell production in aquatic habitats
TL;DR: It is suggested that shell producers should not be neglected as a targets of conservation, restoration and habitat management.
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Light limitation in a stream ecosystem: responses by primary producers and consumers
TL;DR: Bottom-up effects of light limitation were propagated very strongly in WOC, where the invertebrate fauna is dominated by a grazer that appears to escape top-down control.
Journal ArticleDOI
The contribution of flood disturbance, catchment geology and land use to the habitat template of periphyton in stream ecosystems
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the relationship between periphyton chlorophyll (chl a), ash-free dry mass, taxonomic composition, and cellular and water column nutrients at sixteen stream sites in New Zealand.
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