2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH
5/20/2019 | 3:00 PM - 3:15 PM | HURRICANE DISTURBANCE DRIVES TROPHIC CHANGES IN NEOTROPICAL MOUNTAIN STREAMS IN PUERTO RICO | 254 B
HURRICANE DISTURBANCE DRIVES TROPHIC CHANGES IN NEOTROPICAL MOUNTAIN STREAMS IN PUERTO RICO
Hurricanes dominate the disturbance regime of many tropical ecosystems. While the impact of these disturbances on terrestrial environments has been well studied, their effects on stream ecosystems are less understood. Here, we quantified the response of the stream food web to two major hurricanes (Irma and Maria, both category 4) that hit Puerto Rico in September 2017. We assessed changes in basal resources (i.e., algal periphyton and leaflitter) and Layman’s community-wide metrics using the isotopic composition of 13C and 15N. Basal resources, macroinvertebrates (from different trophic levels) and terrestrial predators were sampled in two second order streams before (Feb-2017), immediately after (Nov-2017) and 9mo after (June-2019) the hurricanes. Both streams were heavily shaded pre-hurricanes. Post-hurricanes, periphyton contribution increased for most consumers that had previously fed on leaflitter. Indices of community-wide metrics were low, indicating decreased trophic diversity 2mo post-hurricanes. Our study showed that hurricanes change the trophic base from allochthonous to autochthonous resources via changes in the physical environment (canopy damage). Findings are fundamental to our understanding of the impact of these extreme events, which will be more severe and frequent according to climate change predictions.
- Tropics
- Isotope
- Food Webs
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Presenters/Authors
Pablo E. Gutiérrez-Fonseca
(), University of Costa Rica, pabloe.gutierrezfonseca@gmail.com;
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Alonso Ramírez
(), North Carolina State University, alonso.ramirez@ncsu.edu;
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Catherine Pringle
(), University of Georgia, cpringle@uga.edu;
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