Anthropogenic Subsidies Alter Stream Consumer-Resource Stoichiometry, Biodiversity, and Food Chains

Urbanization is dramatically changing nutrient and organic matter regimes in streams, yet the community and ecosystem implications often remain obscure. We assessed the consequences of sewage-derived particulate organic matter (SDPOM) for invertebrate community structure and function in a headwater...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecological applications 2007-03, Vol.17 (2), p.376-389
Main Authors: Singer, Gabriel A., Battin, Tom J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
anthropogenic subsidies
Biodiversity
Biomass
Conservation of Natural Resources
ecological stoichiometry
Ecosystems
Environmental Monitoring - methods
Food Chain
food chain length
Freshwater ecology
Invertebrates - physiology
Isotopes
Marine ecology
Periphyton
Predators
Rivers
secondary production
Sewage
sewage sludge
stable isotopes
Stoichiometry
stream ecology
Streams
Taxa
Time Factors
Urban ecology
Urbanization
wastewater treatment
Water Pollutants
Water Pollution, Chemical
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Summary:Urbanization is dramatically changing nutrient and organic matter regimes in streams, yet the community and ecosystem implications often remain obscure. We assessed the consequences of sewage-derived particulate organic matter (SDPOM) for invertebrate community structure and function in a headwater stream. Using stable isotope analyses, we found assimilation of organic SDPOM to double community secondary production, and stoichiometric analyses revealed SDPOM enriched in phosphorus (P) to foster putatively fast-growing, P-rich consumers in the subsidized reach. This altered consumer-resource stoichiometry impacted both community structure and nutrient fluxes through the invertebrate community. Community structure shifted toward significantly reduced diversity and evenness in the subsidized reach and consequently toward shorter food chains. Our integration of ecological stoichiometry with stable isotope analyses and food web ecology expands the previous focus of traditional ecotoxicology and ecophysiology to an ecosystem-level appreciation of pollutant ecology.
ISSN:1051-0761
1939-5582
DOI:10.1890/06-0229