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Abstract In aquatic ecosystems, greater food web complexity is theorized to increase persistence and resilience of primary production to pulse disturbances, yet experimental evidence is limited. We simulated two storm‐induced pulse disturbances by adding nutrients (~ 3%–5% increase in ambient concentrations) to three ponds with low, intermediate, and high food web complexity and compared to reference ponds. We evaluated the ecological stability of primary production by quantifying persistence as the number of days it took chlorophyll‐aor ecosystem metabolism to deviate significantly from reference conditions and resilience as the time to recover to reference conditions following each disturbance. We also evaluated if a critical transition occurred following the disturbance. The high complexity pond did not significantly deviate from reference conditions following either nutrient pulse, suggesting high ecological stability. The intermediate complexity pond had lower stability, with persistence relatively consistent at 18 and 24 d after each nutrient pulse, and resilience trending toward a substantial increase from 23 d to less than a week before the experiment concluded. Stability was lowest in the low complexity pond where persistence decreased from 24 d to just 8 d and resilience decreased from 5 to 22 d. There was also evidence of a critical transition after the first pulse in the low complexity pond, but not for higher complexity ponds. This experiment provides strong support that food web connectivity and food chain length can aid in buffering aquatic ecosystems against increasing and intensifying by influencing persistence and resilience to repeated nutrient pulses.
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Summer water chemistry, high frequency sensors, zooplankton and benthic macroinvertebrate community composition, periphyton, fish, and macrophyte biomass, along with lake metabolism and greenhouse gas dynamics in six experimental ponds in central Iowa, USA (2020)
{"Abstract":["This data product contains physical, chemical, and biological data ranging from the minute to daily to weekly scale in six artificial ponds (400 square meter surface area, 2m depth) in central Iowa (USA) 2020. Ponds were paired into three sets of treatment and reference with treatment ponds receiving two nutrient pulses designed to increase ambient phosphorus concentrations ~ 3 - 5%. Nitrogen and phosphorus were added as NH4NO3 and H3PO4, respectively, at a 24:1 molar ratio. The first nutrient pulse occurred on Julian day of year (DOY) 176 corresponding to a 3% increase and the second nutrient pulse occurred on DOY 211 to a 5% increase. Each treatment-reference set had a different food web structure established ranging between low, intermediate, and high complexity based on trophic connectivity and food chain length. \n \n Added to this data package is a document titled "2020 Iowa State University Horticultural Farm Experimental Ponds Nutrient Addition Experiment". For experimental set up, context, and a summary table of the data tables archived herein with available variables please review this document. It is added to aid in successful interpretation and to increase ease-of-use. Please email Tyler Butts (tyler.james.butts@gmail.com) for any and all questions regarding context or use of this dataset!"]}
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- Award ID(s):
- 2200391
- PAR ID:
- 10660139
- Publisher / Repository:
- Environmental Data Initiative
- Date Published:
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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