Abstract
The dependence of competitive interactions on abiotic conditions is attracting increasing interest in the face of globally rising temperatures and altered biogeochemical cycles of major nutrients. In a microcosm experiment involving a natural inoculum of benthic microalgae, temperature and nutrient supply ratios were manipulated in order to test three main hypotheses: (1) temperature and nutrient supply ratios determine species composition and diversity of the assemblage, (2) the identity of the dominating species depends on nutrient supply and temperature, and (3) higher temperature leads to faster competitive exclusion and thus more rapid decline in species richness. Over a period of 7 weeks, algal biomass reached an equilibrium carrying capacity, with was higher at colder temperatures and intermediate N:P supply ratios (N:P = 16). Initial growth rate increased with temperature and under high P-supply. Species richness in the stationary phase of the experiment decreased with increasing temperature, reflecting a higher extinction rate in the warmer treatments, which were also characterized by higher dominance of single species. Thus, increasing temperature both altered the identity of the dominating species and accelerated competitive displacement. This experiment thus indicates that warming might influence outcome and temporal dynamics in species interactions, and thereby eventually local diversity.
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Acknowledgments
This paper is a reassessment of data obtained from an experiment in a project funded by the German Science Foundation (DFG So145/15-1). The new analysis is based on ideas developed during the Aquashift priority program funded by the DFG (DFG Hi 848/3-2).
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Appendix 1
Appendix 1
Species found in the inocula of the two experiments are listed. Besides the species names and classes (BAC Bacillariphyceae, RHO Rhodophyceae, CYA Cyanobacteria), the percentage contribution to the inocula is given (r rare, <0.1% of inoculums biovolume).
Species | Class | % |
|---|---|---|
Achnanthesbrevipes C.A. Ag. | BAC | r |
Achnantheslongipes C.A. Ag. | BAC | r |
Aglaothamnionbyssoides (Arn.) L’Hardy-Halos & Rueness | RHO | r |
Amphoracoffeaeformis (C.A. Ag.) Kützing | BAC | 0.2 |
Asterionellaformosa Hassall | BAC | 0.2 |
Berkeleyarutilans (Trentepohl) Grunow | BAC | 0.5 |
Chaetocerossimplex Ostenfeld | BAC | r |
Cocconeisscutellum Ehrenberg | BAC | r |
Cylindrothecaclosterium (Ehrenberg) Reiman & Lewin | BAC | r |
Cymbellapusilla Kützing | BAC | r |
Diatomavulgare Bory | BAC | r |
Hasleacrucigera (W. Smith) Simonsen | BAC | r |
Licmophorahyalina (Kützing) Grunow | BAC | r |
Licmophoraparadoxa (Lyngbye) C.A. Ag. | BAC | r |
Melosiramoniliformis (O.F. Müller) C.A. Ag. | BAC | 73.7 |
Melosiranummuloides C.A. Ag. | BAC | 13.0 |
Navicula cf. cincta (Ehrenberg) Ralfs | BAC | 1.7 |
Navicula cf. perminuta Grunow | BAC | 1.3 |
Navicularadiosa Kützing | BAC | r |
Nitzschiacapitellata Hustedt | BAC | 0.5 |
Nitzschiagracilis Hantzsch | BAC | r |
Nitzschiamicrocephala Grunow | BAC | r |
Nitzschiasigma (Kützing) W. Smith | BAC | r |
Odontellaaurita (Lyngbye) C.A. Ag. | BAC | 8.7 |
Pseudanabaena sp. | CYA | r |
Skeletonemacostatum (Greville) Cleve | BAC | r |
Spirulinasubsalsa Oersted | CYA | r |
Stauroneis simulans (Donkin) Ross | BAC | r |
Tabulariafasciculata (C.A. Ag.) Williams & Round | BAC | r |
Tryblionellaapiculata Gregory | BAC | r |
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Hillebrand, H. Temperature mediates competitive exclusion and diversity in benthic microalgae under different N:P stoichiometry. Ecol Res 26, 533–539 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-011-0810-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-011-0810-y