Decomposing multiple dimensions of stability in global change experiments.

Ecological stability is the central framework to understand an ecosystem's ability to absorb or recover from environmental change. Recent modelling and conceptual work suggests that stability is a multidimensional construct comprising different response aspects. Using two freshwater mesocosm experiments as case studies, we show how the response to single perturbations can be decomposed in different stability aspects (resistance, resilience, recovery, temporal stability) for both ecosystem functions and community composition. We find that extended community recovery is tightly connected to a nearly complete recovery of the function (biomass production), whereas systems with incomplete recovery of the species composition ranged widely in their biomass compared to controls. Moreover, recovery was most complete when either resistance or resilience was high, the latter associated with low temporal stability around the recovery trend. In summary, no single aspect of stability was sufficient to reflect the overall stability of the system.

[1]  Robert M. May,et al.  Stability and Complexity in Model Ecosystems , 2019, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics.

[2]  H. Hillebrand,et al.  Functional and structural stability are linked in phytoplankton metacommunities of different connectivity , 2017 .

[3]  Jonathan M. Chase,et al.  Community assembly and the functioning of ecosystems: how metacommunity processes alter ecosystems attributes. , 2017, Ecology.

[4]  Colin R. Janssen,et al.  Biodiversity increases functional and compositional resistance, but decreases resilience in phytoplankton communities. , 2016, Ecology.

[5]  Mike S. Fowler,et al.  Navigating the complexity of ecological stability. , 2016, Ecology letters.

[6]  E. Borer,et al.  Long-term effects of plant diversity and composition on plant stoichiometry , 2016 .

[7]  Lucas Sinclair,et al.  Microbial Community Composition and Diversity via 16S rRNA Gene Amplicons: Evaluating the Illumina Platform , 2014, bioRxiv.

[8]  A. Knapp,et al.  Resistance and resilience of a grassland ecosystem to climate extremes , 2014 .

[9]  S. Ernest,et al.  Species-level and community-level responses to disturbance: a cross-community analysis. , 2014, Ecology.

[10]  H. Hillebrand,et al.  Dispersal restricts local biomass but promotes the recovery of metacommunities after temperature stress , 2014 .

[11]  M. Logan,et al.  Contrasting rates of coral recovery and reassembly in coral communities on the Great Barrier Reef , 2014, Coral Reefs.

[12]  Ellen I. Damschen,et al.  Eutrophication weakens stabilizing effects of diversity in natural grasslands , 2014, Nature.

[13]  Philip A. Martin,et al.  Carbon pools recover more quickly than plant biodiversity in tropical secondary forests , 2013, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

[14]  J. Fox,et al.  Species Richness and the Temporal Stability of Biomass Production: A New Analysis of Recent Biodiversity Experiments , 2013, The American Naturalist.

[15]  Dag L. Aksnes,et al.  Centennial changes in water clarity of the Baltic Sea and the North Sea , 2013 .

[16]  M. Striebel,et al.  Different mixing techniques in experimental mesocosms—does mixing affect plankton biomass and community composition? , 2013, Limnology and oceanography, methods.

[17]  Andrew L Jackson,et al.  On the dimensionality of ecological stability. , 2013, Ecology letters.

[18]  Michel Loreau,et al.  Biodiversity and ecosystem stability: a synthesis of underlying mechanisms. , 2013, Ecology letters.

[19]  A. Eiler,et al.  Unveiling Distribution Patterns of Freshwater Phytoplankton by a Next Generation Sequencing Based Approach , 2013, PloS one.

[20]  H. Hillebrand,et al.  Species traits and species diversity affect community stability in a multiple stressor framework , 2012 .

[21]  E. Borer,et al.  Plant diversity controls arthropod biomass and temporal stability. , 2012, Ecology letters.

[22]  Silke Langenheder,et al.  Effects of Disturbance Intensity and Frequency on Bacterial Community Composition and Function , 2012, PloS one.

[23]  Markus Fischer,et al.  More diverse plant communities have higher functioning over time due to turnover in complementary dominant species , 2011, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[24]  J. Fox.  Partitioning the effects of species loss on community variability using multi‐level selection theory , 2010 .

[25]  Á. Borja,et al.  Medium- and Long-term Recovery of Estuarine and Coastal Ecosystems: Patterns, Rates and Restoration Effectiveness , 2010 .

[26]  M. Loreau.  Linking biodiversity and ecosystems: towards a unifying ecological theory , 2010, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

[27]  F. Berendse,et al.  Diversity enhances community recovery, but not resistance, after drought , 2010 .

[28]  R. Hesslein,et al.  Long‐term patterns of dissolved organic carbon in lakes across eastern Canada: Evidence of a pronounced climate effect , 2010 .

[29]  G. Weyhenmeyer,et al.  Nonlinear response of dissolved organic carbon concentrations in boreal lakes to increasing temperatures , 2009 .

[30]  Guy Woodward,et al.  Emerging horizons in biodiversity and ecosystem functioning research. , 2009, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[31]  M. Cadotte,et al.  Consequences of dominance: a review of evenness effects on local and regional ecosystem processes. , 2008, Ecology.

[32]  S. Carpenter,et al.  Stability and Diversity of Ecosystems , 2007, Science.

[33]  H. Hillebrand,et al.  Diversity-stability relationship varies with latitude in zooplankton. , 2007, Ecology letters.

[34]  K. Sundbäck,et al.  Combined nutrienttoxicant effects on a shallow-water marine sediment system: sensitivity and resilience of ecosystem functions , 2007 .

[35]  E. Maggi,et al.  Temporal variance reverses the impact of high mean intensity of stress in climate change experiments. , 2006, Ecology.

[36]  T. M. Bezemer,et al.  Species divergence and trait convergence in experimental plant community assembly , 2005 .

[37]  G. Allison,et al.  THE INFLUENCE OF SPECIES DIVERSITY AND STRESS INTENSITY ON COMMUNITY RESISTANCE AND RESILIENCE , 2004 .

[38]  L. Benedetti‐Cecchi.  The importance of the variance around the mean effect size of ecological processes , 2003 .

[39]  Jay T. Lennon,et al.  Biodiversity may regulate the temporal variability of ecological systems , 2001 .

[40]  Peter J. Morin,et al.  BIODIVERSITY, DENSITY COMPENSATION, AND THE DYNAMICS OF POPULATIONS AND FUNCTIONAL GROUPS , 2000 .

[41]  M. Moore,et al.  Synergism and antagonism among multiple stressors , 1999 .

[42]  Helmut Hillebrand,et al.  BIOVOLUME CALCULATION FOR PELAGIC AND BENTHIC MICROALGAE , 1999 .

[43]  M. Loreau,et al.  Biodiversity and ecosystem productivity in a fluctuating environment: the insurance hypothesis. , 1999, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[44]  Christian Wissel,et al.  Babel, or the ecological stability discussions: an inventory and analysis of terminology and a guide for avoiding confusion , 1997, Oecologia.

[45]  D. Tilman.  Biodiversity: Population Versus Ecosystem Stability , 1995 .

[46]  Richard M. Cowling,et al.  The invasive potential of Australian banksias in South African fynbos: A comparison of the reproductive potential of Banksia ericifolia and Leucadendron laureolum , 1992 .

[47]  K. Christoffersen,et al.  Measurements of chlorophyll-a from phytoplankton using ethanol as extraction solvent , 1987, Archiv für Hydrobiologie.

[48]  S. Pimm.  The complexity and stability of ecosystems , 1984, Nature.

[49]  C. S. Holling.  Resilience and Stability of Ecological Systems , 1973 .

[50]  J. T. Curtis,et al.  An Ordination of the Upland Forest Communities of Southern Wisconsin , 1957 .

[51]  E. Lindström.  Increased water color affects freshwater plankton communities but not ecosystem functions in a mesocosm study. , 2017 .

[52]  S. Langenheder,et al.  Increased water colour affects freshwater plankton communities in a mesocosm study , 2017 .

[53]  D. Bates,et al.  fitting linear mixed effects models using lme 4 arxiv , 2014 .

[54]  R Core Team,et al.  R: A language and environment for statistical computing. , 2014 .

[55]  H. Bottrell.  A review of some problems in zooplankton production studies , 1976 .

[56]  Charles C. Elton.  The Ecology of Invasions by Animals and Plants , 1958, Springer Netherlands.

[57]  H. Utermöhl.  Zur Vervollkommnung der quantitativen Phytoplankton-Methodik , 1958 .