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Food web structure exceeds the effects of precipitation on ecosystem function Trzcinski, M. Kurtis; Srivastava, Diane S.; Corbara, Bruno; Dézerald, Olivier; Leroy, Céline; Carrias, Jean-François; Dejean, Alain; Céréghino, Régis

Abstract

Ecosystems are being stressed by climate change, but few studies have tested the food web responses to changes in precipitation patterns and the consequences to ecosystem function. Fewer still have considered whether results from one geographic region can be applied to other regions, given the degree of community change over large biogeographic gradients. 2. We assembled, in one field site, three types of macroinvertebrate communities within waterfilled bromeliads. Two were inspired by the multi-channel food webs found in Costa Rica and Puerto Rico and one by the structurally simpler food webs in French Guiana. We manipulated the amount and distribution of rain entering bromeliads, and examined how food web structure mediated ecosystem responses to changes in the quantity and temporal distribution of precipitation. 3. Food web structure affected the survival of functional groups in general, and ecosystem functions such as decomposition and the production of fine particulate organic matter. Microorganisms and metazoans were more resistant to drought than ecosystem function. In our experiments, the sensitivity of the ecosystem to precipitation change was primarily revealed in the food web dominated by the single mosquito-microbial channel because other top-down and bottom-up processes were weak or absent. 4. Our results show stronger effects of food web structure than precipitation change per se on the functioning of bromeliad ecosystems. Consequently, we predict that ecosystem function in bromeliads throughout the Americas will be more sensitive to changes in the distribution of species, rather than to the direct effects caused by changes in precipitation.

Item Metadata

Title
Food web structure exceeds the effects of precipitation on ecosystem function
Creator
Trzcinski, M. Kurtis; Srivastava, Diane S.; Corbara, Bruno; Dézerald, Olivier; Leroy, Céline; Carrias, Jean-François; Dejean, Alain; Céréghino, Régis
Date Issued
2016
Description
Ecosystems are being stressed by climate change, but few studies have tested the food web responses to changes in precipitation patterns and the consequences to ecosystem function. Fewer still have considered whether results from one geographic region can be applied to other regions, given the degree of community change over large biogeographic gradients. 2. We assembled, in one field site, three types of macroinvertebrate communities within waterfilled bromeliads. Two were inspired by the multi-channel food webs found in Costa Rica and Puerto Rico and one by the structurally simpler food webs in French Guiana. We manipulated the amount and distribution of rain entering bromeliads, and examined how food web structure mediated ecosystem responses to changes in the quantity and temporal distribution of precipitation. 3. Food web structure affected the survival of functional groups in general, and ecosystem functions such as decomposition and the production of fine particulate organic matter. Microorganisms and metazoans were more resistant to drought than ecosystem function. In our experiments, the sensitivity of the ecosystem to precipitation change was primarily revealed in the food web dominated by the single mosquito-microbial channel because other top-down and bottom-up processes were weak or absent. 4. Our results show stronger effects of food web structure than precipitation change per se on the functioning of bromeliad ecosystems. Consequently, we predict that ecosystem function in bromeliads throughout the Americas will be more sensitive to changes in the distribution of species, rather than to the direct effects caused by changes in precipitation.
Subject
Ecosystem function; Climate change; Precipitation; Community interactions; French Guiana; Bromeliad; Phytotelmata; Invertebrates; Microorganisms
Genre
Article; Postprint
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2017-06-01
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
DOI
10.14288/1.0305068
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/58320
Affiliation
Science, Faculty of; Non UBC; Zoology, Department of
Citation
Trzcinski, M.K, Srivastava, D.S., Corbara, B., Dézerald, O., Leroy, C., Carrias, J.-F., Dejean A. & Céréghino. R. 2016. The effects of food web structure on ecosystem function exceeds those of precipitation. Journal of Animal Ecology
Publisher DOI
10.1111/1365-2656.12538
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty; Researcher; Other; Unknown
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International