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A test of biological trait analysis with nematodes and an anthropogenic stressor

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Abstract

Aquatic ecosystems are fundamentally altered by nutrient enrichment, and effective monitoring tools are needed to detect biological responses especially in the early stages of eutrophication. We tested the utility of biological trait analysis (BTA) to quantify the temporal responses of nematodes inhabiting salt marsh creeks that were experimentally enriched with nutrients for 6 years. Feeding, body shape, and tail shape traits were characterized on >6000 nematodes from annual samples from enriched and non-enriched sites. Here, we ask if trait combinations are more effective than single traits in detecting the magnitude and rate of change. We also sought to identify combinations of traits that best distinguish natural from nutrient-induced variation. BTA revealed that feeding, body shape, and all traits combined equally detected the response to nutrient enrichment. Compared to single traits however, BTAs were more sensitive to temporal trends and better distinguished natural variation from the response to nutrient enrichment. Tail shape traits (that might respond to altered sediment texture or geochemistry) were not affected by enrichment, and feeding traits yielded the greatest difference between enriched and reference communities indicating that changes in food resources drove responses. Feeding traits provided the highest quality information content in our study, and the use of feeding traits alone may adequately identify anthropogenic effects in many studies. However, we caution that body shape, tail shape, and feeding traits were strongly interrelated at our study site, and a diversity of trait groups may increase the information content of BTAs in more diverse habitats.

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Acknowledgments

The authors express their deep gratitude to the TIDE project leaders and its many participants for collecting samples and providing support necessary to maintain a demanding program of nutrient enrichment. We also thank Dr. Kevin Carman for graciously allowing us to use his laboratory with its facilities for nematode body size/shape measurements, trophic/tail identification, and photographs. We also thank Dr. J. Geagan for his help with statistical consultations at the early stages of the manuscript. The first author expresses her deep gratitude to the Fulbright commissions for support that allowed her to do this research in the USA. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Nos. 0213767 and 9726921. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA

    Hanan M. Mitwally & John W. Fleeger

  2. Oceanography Department, Faculty of Science, University of Alexandria, Moharem Bey, 21151, Alexandria, Egypt

    Hanan M. Mitwally

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  1. Hanan M. Mitwally
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Correspondence to Hanan M. Mitwally.

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Mitwally, H.M., Fleeger, J.W. A test of biological trait analysis with nematodes and an anthropogenic stressor. Environ Monit Assess 188, 140 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-016-5128-3

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