2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH
5/27/2021 | 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM | INVESTIGATING THE ROLE OF NETWORK COMPLEXITY IN SUSTAINING BIODIVERSITY IN META-FOOD WEBS OF A WILDERNESS RIVER | Virtual Platform
INVESTIGATING THE ROLE OF NETWORK COMPLEXITY IN SUSTAINING BIODIVERSITY IN META-FOOD WEBS OF A WILDERNESS RIVER
Free-flowing, unfragmented river networks are increasingly rare and their study is vital to understanding natural river ecosystems. We are studying network complexity and its consequences for aquatic meta-food webs and biodiversity across four tributary confluence complexes (multiple tributaries entering a mainstem in close proximity) in a wilderness river. We hypothesized that these complexes create mosaics of habitats, biodiversity, and complexity in meta-food webs, each of which may contribute to community and food web stability. We performed aquatic vertebrate surveys and habitat measurements, and collected fish and amphibian stomach contents and samples for stable isotope analyses across 10 tributaries and 12 mainstem sites. We are analyzing these at nested spatial scales using an iterative, aggregation simulation to investigate the effect of increasing habitat complexity on biodiversity and food web metrics linked to its maintenance. Preliminary results from one confluence complex showed that, when compared to a null model that included no increased habitat complexity, sequentially increasing the suite of habitats included via the simulation not only led to increases in habitat heterogeneity and vertebrate diversity, but also increased the complexity and trophic niche space of the resultant meta-food webs.
- Meta-ecosystems
- Biodiversity
- Species interactions
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Presenters/Authors
Laurel Faurot
(), Idaho State University, laurelfaurot@isu.edu;
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Colden Baxter
(), Idaho State University, baxtcold@isu.edu;
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Sawyer Finley
(), Idaho State University, sawyerfinley@isu.edu;
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