@article{vanVelzenThieserBerendonketal.2018, author = {van Velzen, Ellen and Thieser, Tamara and Berendonk, Thomas U. and Weitere, Markus and Gaedke, Ursula}, title = {Inducible defense destabilizes predator-prey dynamics}, series = {Oikos}, volume = {127}, journal = {Oikos}, number = {11}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {0030-1299}, doi = {10.1111/oik.04868}, pages = {1551 -- 1562}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Phenotypic plasticity in prey can have a dramatic impact on predator-prey dynamics, e.g. by inducible defense against temporally varying levels of predation. Previous work has overwhelmingly shown that this effect is stabilizing: inducible defenses dampen the amplitudes of population oscillations or eliminate them altogether. However, such studies have neglected scenarios where being protected against one predator increases vulnerability to another (incompatible defense). Here we develop a model for such a scenario, using two distinct prey phenotypes and two predator species. Each prey phenotype is defended against one of the predators, and vulnerable to the other. In strong contrast with previous studies on the dynamic effects of plasticity involving a single predator, we find that increasing the level of plasticity consistently destabilizes the system, as measured by the amplitude of oscillations and the coefficients of variation of both total prey and total predator biomasses. We explain this unexpected and seemingly counterintuitive result by showing that plasticity causes synchronization between the two prey phenotypes (and, through this, between the predators), thus increasing the temporal variability in biomass dynamics. These results challenge the common view that plasticity should always have a stabilizing effect on biomass dynamics: adding a single predator-prey interaction to an established model structure gives rise to a system where different mechanisms may be at play, leading to dramatically different outcomes.}, language = {en} } @article{SeilervanVelzenNeuetal.2017, author = {Seiler, Claudia and van Velzen, Ellen and Neu, Thomas R. and Gaedke, Ursula and Berendonk, Thomas U. and Weitere, Markus}, title = {Grazing resistance of bacterial biofilms: a matter of predators' feeding trait}, series = {FEMS microbiology ecology}, volume = {93}, journal = {FEMS microbiology ecology}, publisher = {Oxford Univ. Press}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {0168-6496}, doi = {10.1093/femsec/fix112}, pages = {9}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Biofilm formation in bacteria is considered to be one strategy to avoid protozoan grazing. However, this assumption is largely based on experiments with suspension-feeding protozoans. Here we test the hypothesis that grazing resistance depends on both the grazers' feeding trait and the bacterial phenotype, rather than being a general characteristic of bacterial biofilms. We combined batch experiments with mathematical modelling, considering the bacterium Pseudomonas putida and either a suspension-feeding (i.e. the ciliate Paramecium tetraurelia) or a surface-feeding grazer (i.e. the amoeba Acanthamoeba castellanii). We find that both plankton and biofilm phenotypes were consumed, when exposed to their specialised grazer, whereas the other phenotype remained grazing-resistant. This was consistently shown in two experiments (starting with either only planktonic bacteria or with additional pre-grown biofilms) and matches model predictions. In the experiments, the plankton feeder strongly stimulated the biofilm biomass. This stimulation of the resistant prey phenotype was not predicted by the model and it was not observed for the biofilm feeders, suggesting the existence of additional mechanisms that stimulate biofilm formation besides selective feeding. Overall, our results confirm our hypothesis that grazing resistance is a matter of the grazers' trait (i.e. feeding type) rather than a biofilm-specific property.}, language = {en} } @article{KaylerPremkeGessleretal.2019, author = {Kayler, Zachary E. and Premke, Katrin and Gessler, Arthur and Gessner, Mark O. and Griebler, Christian and Hilt, Sabine and Klemedtsson, Leif and Kuzyakov, Yakov and Reichstein, Markus and Siemens, Jan and Totsche, Kai-Uwe and Tranvik, Lars and Wagner, Annekatrin and Weitere, Markus and Grossart, Hans-Peter}, title = {Integrating Aquatic and Terrestrial Perspectives to Improve Insights Into Organic Matter Cycling at the Landscape Scale}, series = {Frontiers in Earth Science}, volume = {7}, journal = {Frontiers in Earth Science}, publisher = {Frontiers Research Foundation}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {2296-6463}, doi = {10.3389/feart.2019.00127}, pages = {14}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Across a landscape, aquatic-terrestrial interfaces within and between ecosystems are hotspots of organic matter (OM) mineralization. These interfaces are characterized by sharp spatio-temporal changes in environmental conditions, which affect OM properties and thus control OM mineralization and other transformation processes. Consequently, the extent of OM movement at and across aquatic-terrestrial interfaces is crucial in determining OM turnover and carbon (C) cycling at the landscape scale. Here, we propose expanding current concepts in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem sciences to comprehensively evaluate OM turnover at the landscape scale. We focus on three main concepts toward explaining OM turnover at the landscape scale: the landscape spatiotemporal context, OM turnover described by priming and ecological stoichiometry, and anthropogenic effects as a disruptor of natural OM transfer magnitudes and pathways. A conceptual framework is introduced that allows for discussing the disparities in spatial and temporal scales of OM transfer, changes in environmental conditions, ecosystem connectivity, and microbial-substrate interactions. The potential relevance of priming effects in both terrestrial and aquatic systems is addressed. For terrestrial systems, we hypothesize that the interplay between the influx of OM, its corresponding elemental composition, and the elemental demand of the microbial communities may alleviate spatial and metabolic thresholds. In comparison, substrate level OM dynamics may be substantially different in aquatic systems due to matrix effects that accentuate the role of abiotic conditions, substrate quality, and microbial community dynamics. We highlight the disproportionate impact anthropogenic activities can have on OM cycling across the landscape. This includes reversing natural OM flows through the landscape, disrupting ecosystem connectivity, and nutrient additions that cascade across the landscape. This knowledge is crucial for a better understanding of OM cycling in a landscape context, in particular since terrestrial and aquatic compartments may respond differently to the ongoing changes in climate, land use, and other anthropogenic interferences.}, language = {en} } @article{KamjunkeRodeBaborowskietal.2021, author = {Kamjunke, Norbert and Rode, Michael and Baborowski, Martina and Kunz, Julia Vanessa and Zehner, Jakob and Borchardt, Dietrich and Weitere, Markus}, title = {High irradiation and low discharge promote the dominant role of phytoplankton in riverine nutrient dynamics}, series = {Limnology and oceanography / American Society of Limnology and Oceanography}, volume = {66}, journal = {Limnology and oceanography / American Society of Limnology and Oceanography}, number = {7}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {0024-3590}, doi = {10.1002/lno.11778}, pages = {2648 -- 2660}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Rivers play a relevant role in the nutrient turnover during the transport from land to ocean. Here, highly dynamic planktonic processes are more important compared to streams making it necessary to link the dynamics of nutrient turnover to control mechanisms of phytoplankton. We investigated the basic conditions leading to high phytoplankton biomass and corresponding nutrient dynamics in eutrophic, 8th order River Elbe (Germany). In a first step, we performed six Lagrangian sampling campaigns in the lower river section at different hydrological conditions. While nutrient concentrations remained high at low algal densities in autumn and at moderate discharge in summer, high algal concentrations occurred at low discharge in summer. Under these conditions, concentrations of silica and nitrate decreased and rates of nitrate assimilation were high. Soluble reactive phosphorus was depleted and particulate phosphorus increased inversely. Rising molar C:P ratios of seston indicated a phosphorus limitation of phytoplankton, so far rarely observed in eutrophic large rivers. Global radiation combined with mixing depth had a strong predictive power to explain maximum chlorophyll concentration. In a second step, we estimated nutrient turnover exemplarily for N during the campaign with the lowest discharge based on mass balances and metabolism-based process measurements. Mass balance calculations revealed a total nitrate uptake of 423 mg N m(-2)d(-1). Increasing phytoplankton density dominantly explained whole river gross primary production and related assimilatory nutrient uptake. In conclusion, riverine nutrient uptake strongly depends on the growth conditions for phytoplankton, which are favored at high irradiation and low discharge.}, language = {en} } @article{KamjunkeBeckersHerzsprungetal.2022, author = {Kamjunke, Norbert and Beckers, Liza-Marie and Herzsprung, Peter and von T{\"u}mpling, Wolf and Lechtenfeld, Oliver and Tittel, J{\"o}rg and Risse-Buhl, Ute and Rode, Michael and Wachholz, Alexander and Kallies, Rene and Schulze, Tobias and Krauss, Martin and Brack, Werner and Comero, Sara and Gawlik, Bernd Manfred and Skejo, Hello and Tavazzi, Simona and Mariani, Giulio and Borchardt, Dietrich and Weitere, Markus}, title = {Lagrangian profiles of riverine autotrophy, organic matter transformation, and micropollutants at extreme drought}, series = {The science of the total environment : an international journal for scientific research into the environment and its relationship with man}, volume = {828}, journal = {The science of the total environment : an international journal for scientific research into the environment and its relationship with man}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0048-9697}, doi = {10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154243}, pages = {14}, year = {2022}, abstract = {On their way from inland to the ocean, flowing water bodies, their constituents and their biotic communities are ex-posed to complex transport and transformation processes. However, detailed process knowledge as revealed by La-grangian measurements adjusted to travel time is rare in large rivers, in particular at hydrological extremes. To fill this gap, we investigated autotrophic processes, heterotrophic carbon utilization, and micropollutant concentrations applying a Lagrangian sampling design in a 600 km section of the River Elbe (Germany) at historically low discharge. Under base flow conditions, we expect the maximum intensity of instream processes and of point source impacts. Phy-toplankton biomass and photosynthesis increased from upstream to downstream sites but maximum chlorophyll con-centration was lower than at mean discharge. Concentrations of dissolved macronutrients decreased to almost complete phosphate depletion and low nitrate values. The longitudinal increase of bacterial abundance and production was less pronounced than in wetter years and bacterial community composition changed downstream. Molecular analyses revealed a longitudinal increase of many DOM components due to microbial production, whereas saturated lipid-like DOM, unsaturated aromatics and polyphenols, and some CHOS surfactants declined. In decomposition exper-iments, DOM components with high O/C ratios and high masses decreased whereas those with low O/C ratios, low masses, and high nitrogen content increased at all sites. Radiocarbon age analyses showed that DOC was relatively old (890-1870 years B.P.), whereas the mineralized fraction was much younger suggesting predominant oxidation of algal lysis products and exudates particularly at downstream sites. Micropollutants determining toxicity for algae (terbuthylazine, terbutryn, isoproturon and lenacil), hexachlorocyclohexanes and DDTs showed higher concentrations from the middle towards the downstream part but calculated toxicity was not negatively correlated to phytoplankton. Overall, autotrophic and heterotrophic process rates and micropollutant concentrations increased from up-to down-stream reaches, but their magnitudes were not distinctly different to conditions at medium discharges.}, language = {en} }