Jonathan P. Benstead

Updated estimates of biotic diversity and endemism for Madagascar

Disclosed is a negative pressure air bearing slider having at least one trailing edge pocket defined by a generally U-shaped rail open to the trailing edge of the slider, and at least one leading edge pocket defined by a generally U-shaped rail open to the leading edge of the slider. Also disclosed is a method for determining an optimal width for a leading edge pocket of predetermined length and depth to provide a flat fly height profile in combination with a trailing edge pocket of predetermined dimensions. For a given trailing edge pocket configuration, width optimization is achieved by constructing a number of prototype sliders, each having a unique leading to trailing edge pocket width ratio; measuring the inner and outer diameter fly heights for each prototype to obtain ID and OD fly height profile curves; and determining a leading edge pocket width corresponding to the point of intersection of the curves.

Effects of a low-head dam and water abstraction on migratory tropical stream biota

Migration of large-bodied “macroconsumers” (e.g., fishes, shrimps, and snails) is an important functional linkage between many tropical rivers and their estuaries. Increasingly, this linkage is being severed by dams and water abstraction. The ecological impacts of these activities are poorly understood and are largely being ignored by dam operators. We investigated the direct effects of a water intake and low-head dam on the migration of amphidromous freshwater shrimps between the headwater streams and estuary of the Rio Espiritu Santo, Puerto Rico, USA. Both downstream migratory drift of larvae and upstream migration of postlarvae had strong diel patterns, with most activity occurring at night. Unlike large dams on the island, this low-head dam did not act as a complete barrier to the upstream migration of metamorphosed postlarvae. However, the dam did cause large numbers of postlarval shrimps to accumulate directly downstream of the structure. Mortality of drifting first-stage larvae by entrainment into...

Ecological Networks in a Changing Climate

Summary Attempts to gauge the biological impacts of climate change have typically focussed on the lower levels of organization (individuals to populations), rather than considering more complex multi-species systems, such as entire ecological networks (food webs, mutualistic and host–parasitoid networks). We evaluate the possibility that a few principal drivers underpin network-level responses to climate change, and that these drivers can be studied to develop a more coherent theoretical framework than is currently provided by phenomenological approaches. For instance, warming will elevate individual ectotherm metabolic rates, and direct and indirect effects of changes in atmospheric conditions are expected to alter the stoichiometry of interactions between primary consumers and basal resources; these effects are general and pervasive, and will permeate through the entire networks that they affect. In addition, changes in the density and viscosity of aqueous media could alter interactions among very small organisms and disrupt the pycnoclines that currently compartmentalize many aquatic networks in time and space. We identify a range of approaches and potential model systems that are particularly well suited to network-level studies within the context of climate change. We also highlight potentially fruitful areas of research with a view to improving our predictive power regarding climate change impacts on networks. We focus throughout on mechanistic approaches rooted in first principles that demonstrate potential for application across a wide range of taxa and systems.

Damming Tropical Island Streams: Problems, Solutions, and Alternatives

Abstract The combination of human population growth, increased water usage, and limited groundwater resources often leads to extensive damming of rivers and streams on tropical islands. Ecological effects of dams on tropical islands can be dramatic, because the vast majority of native stream faunas (fishes, shrimps, and snails) migrate between freshwater and saltwater during their lives. Dams and associated water withdrawals have been shown to extirpate native faunas from upstream reaches and increase mortality of downstream-drifting larvae. A better understanding of the effects of dams and the behavior of tropical island stream faunas is providing insights into how managers can mitigate the negative effects of existing dams and develop alternatives to dam construction while still providing freshwater for human use. We review the ecological effects of dams on tropical island streams, explore means to mitigate some of these effects, describe alternatives to dam construction, and recommend research priorities.

Testing isosource : stable isotope analysis of a tropical fishery with diverse organic matter sources

We sampled consumers and organic matter sources (mangrove litter, freshwater swamp-forest litter, seagrasses, seagrass epiphytes, and marine particulate organic matter [MPOM]) from four estuaries on Kosrae, Federated States of Micronesia for stable isotope (sigma13C and sigma34S) analysis. Unique mixing solutions cannot be calculated in a dual-isotope, five-endmember scenario, so we tested IsoSource, a recently developed statistical procedure that calculates ranges in source contributions (i.e., minimum and maximum possible). Relatively high minimum contributions indicate significant sources, while low maxima indicate otherwise. Litter from the two forest types was isotopically distinguishable but had low average minimum contributions (0-8% for mangrove litter and 0% for swamp-forest litter among estuaries). Minimum contribution of MPOM was also low, averaging 0-13% among estuaries. Instead, local marine sources dominated contributions to consumers. Minimum contributions of seagrasses averaged 8-47% among estuaries (range 0-88% among species). Minimum contributions of seagrass epiphytes averaged 5-27% among estuaries (range 0-69% among species). IsoSource enabled inclusion of five organic matter sources in our dual-isotope analysis, ranking trophic importance as follows: seagrasses > seagrass epiphytes > MPOM > mangrove forest > freshwater swamp-forest. IsoSource is thus a useful step toward understanding which of multiple organic matter sources support food webs; more detailed work is necessary to identify unique solutions.

Experimental nutrient additions accelerate terrestrial carbon loss from stream ecosystems

Carbon kicked out by nutrients Excess nutrients added to streams result in net carbon loss from aquatic ecosystems. Nitrogen and phosphorus are known to fuel increases in algal carbon. Now, Rosemond et al. show that nutrients stimulate losses of terrestrially derived carbon (e.g., from twigs and leaves). The authors monitored several multiyear experiments on headwater forest streams in the United States. Some of these streams had extra nitrogen and phosphorus added at levels that are now common in many streams and lakes. To successfully manage river ecosystems, we need to take into account nutrient pollution effects on multiple carbon pathways. Science, this issue p. 1142 Terrestrial carbon is rapidly lost from stream ecosystems as a result of nutrient enrichment. Nutrient pollution of freshwater ecosystems results in predictable increases in carbon (C) sequestration by algae. Tests of nutrient enrichment on the fates of terrestrial organic C, which supports riverine food webs and is a source of CO2, are lacking. Using whole-stream nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) additions spanning the equivalent of 27 years, we found that average terrestrial organic C residence time was reduced by ~50% as compared to reference conditions as a result of nutrient pollution. Annual inputs of terrestrial organic C were rapidly depleted via release of detrital food webs from N and P co-limitation. This magnitude of terrestrial C loss can potentially exceed predicted algal C gains with nutrient enrichment across large parts of river networks, diminishing associated ecosystem services.

Impacts of Warming on the Structure and Functioning of Aquatic Communities : Individual-to Ecosystem-Level Responses

Environmental warming is predicted to rise dramatically over the next century, yet few studies have investigated its effects in natural, multi-species systems. We present data collated over an 8-year period from a catchment of geothermally heated streams in Iceland, which acts as a natural experiment on the effects of warming across different organisational levels and spatiotemporal scales. Body sizes and population biomasses of individual species responded strongly to temperature, with some providing evidence to support temperature size rules. Macroinvertebrate and meiofaunal community composition also changed dramatically across the thermal gradient. Interactions within the warm streams in particular were characterised by food chains linking algae to snails to the apex predator, brown trout These chains were missing from the colder systems, where snails were replaced by much smaller herbivores and invertebrate omnivores were the top predators. Trout were also subsidised by terrestrial invertebrate prey, which could have an effect analogous to apparent competition within the aquatic prey assemblage. Top-down effects by snails on diatoms were stronger in the warmer streams, which could account for a shallowing of mass-abundance slopes across the community. This may indicate reduced energy transfer efficiency from resources to consumers in the warmer systems and/or a change in predator-prey mass ratios. All the ecosystem process rates investigated increased with temperature, but with differing thermal sensitivities, with important implications for overall ecosystem functioning (e.g. creating potential imbalances in elemental fluxes). Ecosystem respiration rose rapidly with temperature, leading to increased heterotrophy. There were also indications that food web stability may be lower in the warmer streams.

RELATIONSHIPS OF STREAM INVERTEBRATE COMMUNITIES TO DEFORESTATION IN EASTERN MADAGASCAR

Madagascar has been recently identified as a global hotspot for freshwater biodiversity. Loss of most of its eastern rain forest, combined with a high incidence of micro-endemism and specialization to forest stream habitats, has likely led to extinction of many of the islands stream insect species. We compared habitat and macroinvertebrate community structure in three streams draining protected rain forest within Ranomafana National Park in eastern Madagascar and three agriculture streams draining the parks largely deforested peripheral zone. Multivariate analyses showed that macroinvertebrate communities differed between stream types. Forest streams were characterized by species-rich, diverse communities composed primarily of collector–gatherers and collector–filterers belonging to the orders Trichoptera, Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Diptera. In contrast, relatively depauperate agriculture stream communities were dominated by generalist collector–gatherer taxa mostly belonging to the order Ephemeropt...

Interactions between temperature and nutrients across levels of ecological organization

Temperature and nutrient availability play key roles in controlling the pathways and rates at which energy and materials move through ecosystems. These factors have also changed dramatically on Earth over the past century as human activities have intensified. Although significant effort has been devoted to understanding the role of temperature and nutrients in isolation, less is known about how these two factors interact to influence ecological processes. Recent advances in ecological stoichiometry and metabolic ecology provide a useful framework for making progress in this area, but conceptual synthesis and review are needed to help catalyze additional research. Here, we examine known and potential interactions between temperature and nutrients from a variety of physiological, community, and ecosystem perspectives. We first review patterns at the level of the individual, focusing on four traits--growth, respiration, body size, and elemental content--that should theoretically govern how temperature and nutrients interact to influence higher levels of biological organization. We next explore the interactive effects of temperature and nutrients on populations, communities, and food webs by synthesizing information related to community size spectra, biomass distributions, and elemental composition. We use metabolic theory to make predictions about how population-level secondary production should respond to interactions between temperature and resource supply, setting up qualitative predictions about the flows of energy and materials through metazoan food webs. Last, we examine how temperature-nutrient interactions influence processes at the whole-ecosystem level, focusing on apparent vs. intrinsic activation energies of ecosystem processes, how to represent temperature-nutrient interactions in ecosystem models, and patterns with respect to nutrient uptake and organic matter decomposition. We conclude that a better understanding of interactions between temperature and nutrients will be critical for developing realistic predictions about ecological responses to multiple, simultaneous drivers of global change, including climate warming and elevated nutrient supply.

Conserving Madagascar's Freshwater Biodiversity

Abstract The island nation of Madagascar, an international conservation priority, is now also recognized as a global hotspot for freshwater biodiversity. Three emerging characteristics of Madagascars threatened freshwater biota deserve increased attention from the scientific and conservation communities. First, species richness is not low, as was once assumed for both the freshwater fishes and the invertebrates. Second, many species are restricted to a specific region or even to single river basins. Often these species are also limited to streams or rivers draining primary forest habitat. Finally, many of the islands freshwater fishes are basal taxa, having diverged earlier than any other extant members of their clade. As such, these taxa assume disproportional phylogenetic importance. In the face of ongoing environmental threats, links among microendemism, forest stream specialization, and basal phylogenetic position highlight the importance and vulnerability of these species and provide a powerful incentive for immediate conservation action.