Environmental Stress Mediates Trophic Cascade Strength And Resistance To Invasion
Advanced Search
Select up to three search categories and corresponding keywords using the fields to the right. Refer to the Help section for more detailed instructions.

Search our Collections & Repository

For very narrow results

When looking for a specific result

Best used for discovery & interchangable words

Recommended to be used in conjunction with other fields

Dates

to

Document Data
Library
People
Clear All
Clear All

For additional assistance using the Custom Query please check out our Help Page

i

Environmental Stress Mediates Trophic Cascade Strength And Resistance To Invasion

Filetype[PDF-653.23 KB]


Details You May Also Like

Details:

  • Journal Title:
    Ecosphere
  • Personal Author:
  • NOAA Program & Office:
    Sea Grant
  • Sea Grant Program:
    CASG/CUIMR (California Sea Grant)
  • Description:
    Although much attention has focused on the drivers of trophic cascade strength among systems (e.g., habitat type, body size, predator, and prey thermy) comparatively little is known of how trophic cascades change within systems, especially with respect to gradients in environmental stress. To address this, we measured the strength of a trophic cascade across an estuarine stress gradient and tested the predictions of “consumer stress model” that suggests sensitivity to stress is greater in mobile consumers relative to sessile prey. We used field observations and experimental manipulations within a central California estuary (Tomales Bay), where higher water temperatures in summer/fall and lower salinity during winter/spring may differentially affect predators (native crabs), meso-consumers (invasive oyster drills), and sessile prey (native oysters). Our results demonstrate that sites with high environmental stress (warmer and lower salinity waters) excluded top predators from the food web, which facilitated high densities of oyster drills and resulted in low oyster survival. In contrast, less stressful sites (cooler and higher salinity waters) had high crab densities leading to reduced oyster drill survival and high oyster survival (an indirect positive effect). Observational data from 14 field sites along both margins of Tomales Bay are consistent with the results of experimental manipulations. This study highlights the importance of environmental stress in mediating within system trophic cascade strength by altering top predator abundance. Our results support the predictions of the consumer stress model and suggest that increasing environmental stress (warming and variable salinity regimes) as a result of climate change may decouple species interactions. Furthermore, warming and extreme low salinities may indirectly intensify the negative effects of non-native species by reducing the biotic resistance provided by native predators.
  • Keywords:
  • Source:
    Ecosphere 7( 4): e01247
  • DOI:
  • Document Type:
    Journal Article
  • Rights Information:
    CC BY
  • Compliance:
    Library
  • Main Document Checksum:
  • Download URL:
  • File Type:

Supporting Files

  • No Additional Files
More +

You May Also Like

Checkout today's featured content at repository.library.noaa.gov

Version 3.27.1