The effects of increasing salinity on ecosystem function, resilience and diversity.

zooplankton | algal

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Title: The effects of increasing salinity on ecosystem function, resilience and diversity.
Creator: Rees, Gavin N.
Creator: Nielsen, Daryl L.
Creator: Brock, Margaret
Creator: Baldwin, Darren S.
Creator: Watson, Garth
Creator: Oliver, Rod L.
Creator: Lorenz, Zygmunt
Creator: Petrie, Rochelle
Creator: Croome, Roger
Creator: Bowling, Lee
Subject: 270000 Biological Sciences
Subject: salinity
Subject: algal
Subject: aquatic plants
Subject: zooplankton
Date: 2005
Publisher: Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre
Description: "July 2005".
Project no.: The effects of increasing salinity on ecosystem function, resilience and diversity - M/BUS/42; CRCFE Project C240
Publication no.: CRCFE Technical Report - Activites 4/5 & 6
Description: MDFRC item.
Description: The objectives of the project are therefore: To quantify the effect of a gradient of salinity on key biodiversity (microbes, algae, zooplankton and aquatic plants) and ecological processes (microbial activity, algal production and respiration, zooplankton and aquatic plant recruitment) and, To explore the relationships between the function, diversity and resilience of aquatic systems along a gradient of salinity. These objectives will test the following hypothesis A. Community diversity and structure hypotheses Increased salinity: i) changes the species richness and abundance of biotic groups (aquatic plants, microinvertebrate, phytoplankton and microbes) under experimental mesocosm conditions. ii) decreases the numbers and richness of grazers, causing the numbers and richness of algal populations to increase through reduced grazing and increased nutrient availability. B. Functional hypotheses Increased salinity: iii) will promote a decrease in methanogenesis. If this occurs in association with sulfate-containing waters, a shift to sulfate reduction as the terminal anaerobic respiration process will result, leading to changes in phosphorus dynamics. iv) decreases the sediment’s capacity to retain ammonia, but increases mobilization of iron, leading to a decrease in available phosphorus in sediments and overlying water. v) reduces the concentrations of dissolved nutrients so that the relative importance of benthic algae increases over phytoplankton. vi) affects the capacity of algae to take in nutrients, with the impact being dependent on salt concentration, salt composition and relative nutrient concentration. This impacts productivity and community composition. vii) differentially restricts the photobiology of algae causing changes in primary production, system productivity (and community composition). viii) changes the capacity of biotic groups to reproduce. ix) will change recruitment of microinvertebrates and aquatic plants.
Funding: MDFRC funding agency: Cooperative Research Centre for Freshwater Ecology
Funding: MDFRC client: Cooperative Research Centre for Freshwater Ecology

Language: en
Rights: Open Access. This report has been reproduce with the publishers permission.
Rights: Permission to reproduce this report must be sought from the publisher.
Type: report

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