CAREER: Linking heterogeneity to the contributions made by species to ecosystem processes

University Of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Eau Claire WI

Investigators

Abstract

This project explores the relationship between environmental heterogeneity in streams and the effect of herbivory on the ecosystem processes of algal accrual and removal. Spatial heterogeneity plays an important role in most, if not all ecosystems; however, few empirical investigations have explicitly examined how environmental heterogeneity influences ecological processes via its affect on species interactions. By addressing how heterogeneity in near-bed current regulates algal accrual through its influence on producer-consumer dynamics, this project will make an important contribution to community ecology in general and stream ecology in particular. Because stream flows are being altered worldwide to meet human needs there exists a pressing need for ecologists to provide society with an understanding of what flows are necessary to prevent species loss and allow streams to provide essential ecosystem services. By exploring the relationship between stream flow, heterogeneity, and herbivory, this project provides a basis for understanding the relationship between stream discharge and function; by examining how stream flow and heterogeneity influence species contributions to stream function, it provides a basis for understanding the causes and consequences of species loss. Ultimately, the project has the potential to provide resource managers with a process-based measure for establishing minimum stream flows.