Stable Isotope Evidence for Dietary Overlap between Alien and Native Gastropods in Coastal Lakes of Northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Tarebia granifera (Lamarck, 1822) is originally from South-East Asia, but has been introduced and become invasive in many tropical and subtropical parts of the world. In South Africa, T. granifera is rapidly invading an increasing number of coastal lakes and estuaries, often reaching very high population densities and dominating shallow water benthic invertebrate assemblages. An assessment of the feeding dynamics of T. granifera has raised questions about potential ecological impacts, specifically in terms of its dietary overlap with native gastropods.A stable isotope mixing model was used together with gut content analysis to estimate the diet of T. granifera and native gastropod populations in three different coastal lakes. Population density, available biomass of food and salinity were measured along transects placed over T. granifera patches. An index of isotopic (stable isotopes) dietary overlap (IDO, %) aided in interpreting interactions between gastropods. The diet of T. granifera was variable, including contributions from microphytobenthos, filamentous algae (Cladophora sp.), detritus and sedimentary organic matter. IDO was significant (>60%) between T. granifera and each of the following gastropods: Haminoea natalensis (Krauss, 1848), Bulinus natalensis (Küster, 1841) and Melanoides tuberculata (Müller, 1774). However, food did not appear to be limiting. Salinity influenced gastropod spatial overlap. Tarebia granifera may only displace native gastropods, such as Assiminea cf. ovata (Krauss, 1848), under salinity conditions below 20. Ecosystem-level impacts are also discussed.The generalist diet of T. granifera may certainly contribute to its successful establishment. However, although competition for resources may take place under certain salinity conditions and if food is limiting, there appear to be other mechanisms at work, through which T. granifera displaces native gastropods. Complementary stable isotope and gut content analysis can provide helpful ecological insights, contributing to monitoring efforts and guiding further invasive species research

Depth-related effects on a meiofaunal community dwelling in the periphyton of a mesotrophic lake

Kreuzinger B, Schroeder F, Majdi N, Traunspurger W. Depth-related effects on a meiofaunal community dwelling in the periphyton of a mesotrophic lake. PLoS One. 2015;10(9): e0137793.Periphyton is a complex assemblage of micro- and meiofauna embedded in the organic matrix that coats most submerged substrate in the littoral of lakes. The aim of this study was to better understand the consequences of depth-level fluctuation on a periphytic community. The effects of light and wave disturbance on the development of littoral periphyton were evaluated in Lake Erken (Sweden) using an experimental design that combined in situ shading with periphyton depth transfers. Free-living nematodes were a major contributor to the meiofaunal community. Their species composition was therefore used as a proxy to distinguish the contributions of light- and wave-related effects. The periphyton layer was much thicker at a depth of 30 cm than at 200 cm, as indicated by differences in the amounts of organic and phototrophic biomass and meiofaunal and nematode densities. A reduction of the depth-level of periphyton via a transfer from a deep to a shallow location induced rapid positive responses by its algal, meiofaunal, and nematode communities. The slower and weaker negative responses to the reverse transfer were attributed to the potentially higher resilience of periphytic communities to increases in the water level. In the shallow littoral of the lake, shading magnified the effects of phototrophic biomass erosion by waves, as the increased exposure to wave shear stress was not compensated for by an increase in photosynthesis. This finding suggests that benthic primary production will be strongly impeded in the shallow littoral zones of lakes artificially shaded by construction or embankments. However, regardless of the light constraints, an increased exposure to wave action had a generally positive short-term effect on meiofaunal density, by favoring the predominance of species able to anchor themselves to the substrate, especially the Chromadorid nematode Punctodora ratzeburgensis

A global analysis of terrestrial plant litter dynamics in non-perennial waterways

Perennial rivers and streams make a disproportionate contribution to global carbon (C) cycling. However, the contribution of intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES), which sometimes cease to flow and can dry completely, is largely ignored although they represent over half the global river network. Substantial amounts of terrestrial plant litter (TPL) accumulate in dry riverbeds and, upon rewetting, this material can undergo rapid microbial processing. We present the results of a global research collaboration that collected and analysed TPL from 212 dry riverbeds across major environmental gradients and climate zones. We assessed litter decomposability by quantifying the litter carbon-to-nitrogen ratio and oxygen (O2) consumption in standardized assays and estimated the potential short-term CO2 emissions during rewetting events. Aridity, cover of riparian vegetation, channel width and dry-phase duration explained most variability in the quantity and decomposability of plant litter in IRES. Our estimates indicate that a single pulse of CO2 emission upon litter rewetting contributes up to 10% of the daily CO2 emission from perennial rivers and stream, particularly in temperate climates. This indicates that the contributions of IRES should be included in global C-cycling assessments

Anthropogenic increases of catchment nitrogen and phosphorus loads in New Zealand

Spatial regression models were used to predict yields (kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹) of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) discharged from catchments throughout New Zealand under natural and current conditions. The models were derived using loads (kg yr⁻¹) of TN, NO₃-N, TP and DRP calculated for 592 river water quality monitoring sites. Anthropogenic increases in yields above natural levels were associated with the proportions of catchments occupied by the intensive agricultural land cover and were unevenly distributed across regions. Anthropogenic increases in national loads of TN, NO₃-N, TP and DRP exported to the ocean were 74%, 159%, 48% and 18%, respectively. Increases in loads exported to the ocean varied considerably at smaller scales, with catchments having significant load increases between 4- and 26-fold for N and 6- to 9-fold for P. Predictions of yields and loads reported here have utility in the development of strategies to manage nutrients