Soil and Geographic Distance as Determinants of Floristic Composition in the Azuero Peninsula (Panama)

Many studies analyzing the relative contribution of soil properties versus distance‐related processes on plant species composition have focused on lowland tropical forests. Very few have investigated two forest types simultaneously, to contrast ecological processes that assemble the communities. This study analyses—at the landscape scale—the relative contribution of soil and distance on lowland and submontane tropical forests, which co‐occur in two reserves of the Azuero peninsula (Panama). Floristic inventories and soil sampling were conducted in 81 0.1‐ha plots clustered in 27 sites, and data were analyzed using Mantel tests, variance partitioning and non‐metric multidimensional scaling. The largest differences in floristic composition occurred between reserves in both forest types. Soil variation and geographic distance were important determinants of floristic composition, but their effects were highly correlated; together they explained 7–25 percent and 46–50 percent of the variation in lowland and submontane forests, respectively. Soil variables that had the best correlations with floristic composition were iron, zinc, and silt content in lowland, and calcium, copper, iron, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, and sand content in submontane forests. The studied forests showed a high beta diversity that seems to be related primarily with soils and, secondarily, with dispersal limitation and stochastic events. The results reveal a response of tree assemblages to environmental gradients, which are particularly conspicuous in Panama. The effects of limited dispersal seem to be more important in submontane than in lowland forests, probably as a result of higher isolation.     

Effects of nutrient enrichment on C and N stable isotope ratios of invertebrates,fish and their food resources in boreal streams

Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes are frequently used to study energy sources and food web structure in ecosystems, and more recently, to study the effects of anthropogenic stress on aquatic ecosystems. We investigated the effect of nutrient enrichment on δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N in fine (FPOM), coarse (CPOM) particulate organic matter, periphyton, invertebrates and fish in nine boreal streams in south-central Sweden. In addition, we analysed the diet of benthic consumers using stable isotope data. Increases in δ¹⁵N of periphyton (R ² = 0.88), CPOM (0.78), invertebrates (0.92) and fish (0.89) were related to nutrient enrichment. In contrast, δ¹³C signatures did not change along the nutrient gradient. Our results show that δ¹⁵N has potential as a sensitive indicator of nutrient enrichment in boreal streams. Carbon and nitrogen isotopes failed to elucidate putative diets of selected aquatic consumers. Indeed, comparison of low- and high-impact sites showed that δ¹³C of many consumers were found outside the ranges of basal resource δ¹³C. Moreover, ranges of basal resource δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N overlapped at both low and high sites, making discrimination between the importance of allochthonous and autochthonous production difficult. Our findings show that a fractionation rate of 3.4‰ is not always be appropriate to assess trophic interactions, suggesting that more studies are needed on fractionation rates along gradients of impairment. Handling editor: M. Power     

Trophic Ecology of Hyalella sp. (Crustacea: Amphipoda) in a High Andes Headwater River with Travertine Deposits

We studied the diet of 50 individuals of Hyalella sp. collected in the karstic headwaters of a high‐altitude Andean river (3817 m a.s.l. Peru) in four different habitats: macrophytes, bryophytes, leaf litter, and layers of travertine. The gut content analysis showed a dominance of fine particulate organic matter (FPOM) in most habitats – layers of travertine (69.5%), Myriophylum (58.5%) and bryophytes (56.8%) – except for individuals collected in leaf litter where coarse particulate organic matter (CPOM) represented 68% of gut content, which indicates a high trophic flexibility of Hyalella sp. Likewise, in an experiment with feeding chambers in situ during three days, twenty individuals of Hyalella sp. presented a higher consumption of leaf litter of native species (Polylepis sp.) (0.025 mg/day) than those of an introduced species (Eucalyptus globulus) (0.008 mg/day). (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Ecosystem Metabolism in Piedmont Streams: Reach Geomorphology Modulates the Influence of Riparian Vegetation

We measured the impact of riparian zone vegetation on ecosystem metabolism in paired forested and meadow reaches on 13 streams in southeastern Pennsylvania and Maryland, USA. Metabolism estimates were based on open-system measurements of dissolved oxygen changes, with reaeration determined from propane evasion. Daily gross primary productivity (GPP) in meadow and forested reaches averaged 2.85 and 0.86 g O₂ m⁻² d⁻¹, respectively, at water temperatures of 12°C or greater when the forest canopy was developed and 1.74 and 1.09 g O₂ m⁻² d⁻¹, respectively, at temperatures below 12°C when the canopy was bare. Community respiration (CR₂₄) also was greater in meadow reaches than in forested reaches, averaging 5.58 and 3.57 g O₂ m⁻² d⁻¹, respectively, in the warm season and 4.87 and 2.88 g O₂ m⁻² d⁻¹, respectively, during the cold season. Thus, both meadow and forested reaches were heterotrophic. Forested reaches were always wider and nearly always shallower than companion meadow reaches. When ecosystem function was assessed per unit of stream length, the difference in average GPP between meadow and forested reaches was reduced from three-fold to 1.9-fold in the warm season, and mean GPP was greater in the forested reaches during the cold season. Mean CR₂₄ per meter stream length was greater in forested reaches during both seasons. Even though riparian shading reduced primary productivity per unit area of streambed, the greater stream width of the forested reaches counteracted that reduction in part. Thus, when rates of ecosystem function were expressed per length of stream, differences between reaches were always smaller than when expressed per area, and activity per unit stream length was sometimes greater in forested reaches than in meadow reaches.     

Consequences of climatic change for water temperature and brown trout populations in Alpine rivers and streams

Twenty‐five years of extensive water temperature data show regionally coherent warming to have occurred in Alpine rivers and streams at all altitudes, reflecting changes in regional air temperature. Much of this warming occurred abruptly in 1987/1988. For brown trout populations, the warming resulted in an upward shift in thermal habitat that was accelerated by an increase in the incidence of temperature‐dependent Proliferative Kidney Disease at the habitat's lower boundary. Because physical barriers restrict longitudinal migration in mountain regions, an upward habitat shift in effect implies habitat reduction, suggesting the likelihood of an overall population decrease. Extensive brown trout catch data documenting an altitudinally dependent decline indicate that such a climate‐related population decrease has in fact occurred. Our analysis employs a quantitatively defined reference optimum temperature range for brown trout, based on the sinusoidal regression of seasonally varying field data.     

High thermal acclimation potential of both photosynthesis and respiration in two lowland Plantago species in contrast to an alpine congeneric

Thermal acclimation of photosynthesis and respiration can enable plants to maintain near constant rates of net CO₂ exchange, despite experiencing sustained changes in daily average temperature. In this study, we investigated whether the degree of acclimation of photosynthesis and respiration of mature leaves differs among three congeneric Plantago species from contrasting habitats [two fast‐growing lowland species (Plantago major and P. lanceolata), and one slow‐growing alpine species (P. euryphylla)]. In addition to investigating some mechanisms underpinning variability in photosynthetic acclimation, we also determined whether leaf respiration in the light acclimates to the same extent as leaf respiration in darkness, and whether acclimation reestablishes the balance between leaf respiration and photosynthesis. Three growth temperatures were provided: constant 13, 20, or 27°C. Measurements were made at five temperatures (6–34°C). Little acclimation of photosynthesis and leaf respiration to growth temperature was exhibited by P. euryphylla. Moreover, leaf masses per area (LMA) were similar in 13°C‐grown and 20°C‐grown plants of the alpine species. In contrast, growth at 13°C increased LMA in the two lowland species; this was associated with increased photosynthetic capacity and rates of leaf respiration (both in darkness and in the light). Alleviation of triose phosphate limitation and increased capacity of electron transport capacity relative to carboxylation were also observed. Such changes demonstrate that the lowland species cold‐acclimated. Light reduced the short‐term temperature dependence (i.e. Q₁₀) of leaf respiration in all three species, irrespective of growth temperature. Collectively, our results highlight the tight coupling that exists between thermal acclimation of photosynthetic and leaf respiratory metabolism (both in darkness and in the light) in Plantago. If widespread among contrasting species, such coupling may enable modellers to assume levels of acclimation in one parameter (e.g. leaf respiration) where details are only known for the other (e.g. photosynthesis).     

Spatial population genetic structure and limited dispersal in a Rocky Mountain alpine stream insect

Using the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene, we assessed the phylogeographic structure of Prosimulium neomacropyga, a black fly (Simuliidae) whose distribution in the US Southern Rockies ecoregion is limited to alpine tundra streams. Given high habitat specificity, lack of hydrological connection between streams, and a terrestrial environment restrictive to insect flight, we hypothesized limited gene flow. A spatially nested sampling design showed that grouping populations according to high-elevation 'islands' of alpine tundra (which typically include headwater streams of > 1 watershed) explained a significant proportion of genetic variation while grouping streams according to major watershed (across islands) did not. Nested clade analysis and isolation-by-distance (IBD) relationships further implicated limited ongoing gene flow within but not among the isolated alpine islands. IBD was strong among five streams within an individual island using each of four alternative models of pairwise landscape connectivity for flying insects. Results of all landscape models were positively correlated, suggesting that straight-line distance is an acceptable surrogate for presumably more biologically meaningful connectivity measures in this system. IBD was significantly weaker across the entire study area, comprised of three separate islands. Overall, population structure was significant with F(ST) = 0.38, suggesting limited dispersal across a small spatial extent.     

Leaf Quality of Some Tropical and Temperate Tree Species as Food Resource for Stream Shredders

We tested the hypotheses that (1) plant defenses against consumers increase in the tropics, and that these differences in quality are perceived by detritivores; and (2) microbial conditioning of leaf litter is important for the feeding ecology of shredders from both geographical regions. We compared quality parameters of 8 tree species from Portugal and 8 from Venezuela. The tropical leaves were tougher, but did not differ from temperate leaves in terms of N, C: N, and polyphenols. In multiple‐choice experiments, shredders from Portugal (Sericostoma vittatum and Chaetopteryx lusitanica) and from Venezuela (Nectopsyche argentata and Phylloicus priapulus) discriminated among conditioned leaves, preferentially consuming softer leaves. In another set of experiments, all shredders preferentially fed on conditioned rather than unconditioned leaves, grew faster when fed conditioned than unconditioned leaves and fed more on temperate than tropical leaves. We conclude that leaf litter from the tropics is a low‐quality resource compared to leaves in temperate systems, because of differences in toughness, and that tropical shredders benefit from microbial colonization, as previously demonstrated for temperate systems. We suggest that leaf toughness could be one explanation for the reported paucity of shredders in some tropical streams. (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Effects of upland clearcutting and riparian partial harvesting on leaf pack breakdown and aquatic invertebrates in boreal forest streams

1. Leaf litter breakdown and associated invertebrates were compared among three logged and three reference stream reaches 2–3 years before and 3–4 years after logging to assess the environmental impacts of partial‐harvest logging as a novel riparian management strategy for boreal forest streams. 2. Partial‐harvest logging at three sites resulted in 10, 21 and 28% average basal area removal from riparian buffers adjacent to upland clear‐cut areas. 3. Leaf litter breakdown rates were not significantly different between reference and logged sites after logging, but litter breakdown was significantly different from year to year at all sites. 4. Significant post‐logging differences in aquatic invertebrate communities were detected at only one of the three logged sites. These differences were largely the result of increases in some leaf‐shredding stoneflies and a detritivorous mayfly and a decrease in a chironomid group 2–4 years after logging. This site where significant change was detected had the lowest intensity of riparian logging (average 10% removal) but the highest proportion of the catchment area that was clear cut (85%). 5.The post‐logging differences in invertebrate communities at this site were more related to catchment‐wide influences (e.g. weather patterns, water yield, possibly upland clearcutting) than to reach‐level disturbances from riparian logging. 6.The study indicates that partial‐harvest logging in riparian buffers at up to 50% removal should pose little risk of harm to leaf litter breakdown processes or aquatic invertebrate communities beyond any impacts that might arise from upland logging disturbance or catchment‐wide influences. However, the results should be viewed in the context of the natural disturbance (summer drought conditions) through the post‐logging assessment period of this study. Post‐logging summer drought conditions may have masked or confounded logging impacts on streams.