EARLY HEARING DETECTION AND INTERVENTION VIRTUAL CONFERENCE
MARCH 2-5, 2021
(Virtually the same conference, without elevators, airplane tickets, or hotel room keys)
5/20/2019 | 11:45 AM - 12:00 PM | RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BIODIVERSITY AND NUTRIENT CYCLING BY SUBTERRANEAN INVERTEBRATE COMMUNITIES IN THE EDWARDS AQUIFER, USA | 251 DE
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BIODIVERSITY AND NUTRIENT CYCLING BY SUBTERRANEAN INVERTEBRATE COMMUNITIES IN THE EDWARDS AQUIFER, USA
Ecologists have long examined the relationship between ecosystem functioning and biodiversity. Subterranean aquatic ecosystems and their assemblages are unique and recycling of nutrients via excretion by invertebrates is virtually unknown. This study examined the relationship between biodiversity of subterranean aquatic organisms (stygobionts) and rates of stygobiont nutrient recycling in the Edwards Aquifer, Texas, USA. Taxon-specific nutrient excretion rates were measured and then linked to abundances at each site in order to calculate the contribution of each species to the overall community-wide nutrient excretion rate. Data were used in probabilistic numerical simulations to examine how community nutrient recycling (ecosystem functioning) was affected by loss of species from the community (loss of diversity). In general, declines in species richness led to declining rates of nutrient recycling. However, the shape of the response was dependent upon species identity and the order of species loss from the community. Large-bodied stygobiont species or species that comprised a substantial proportion of the community biomass had the largest effects on community recycling rates. These findings also highlight the trade-offs faced between species conservation priorities and preservation of ecosystem function.
- Invertebrate
- Nutrients
- Biogeochemistry
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Presenters/Authors
Weston Nowlin
(), Texas State University, wnowlin@txstate.edu;
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Nathan Krupka
(), Texas State University, nathankrupka@gmail.com;
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Benjamin Schwartz
(), Texas State University, bs37@txstate.edu;
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Pete Diaz
(), US Fish and Wildlife Service, pete_diaz@fws.gov;
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