Traits affecting nutrient recycling by mobile consumers can explain coexistence and spatially heterogeneous trophic regulation across a meta‐ecosystem. (31st December 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Peller, Tianna; Marleau, Justin N.; Guichard, Frédéric
• Editors: Shoemaker, Lauren
• Is Part Of: Ecology letters. Volume 25:Number 2(2022)
• Page Start: 440
• Page End: 452
• Publication Date: 2021-12-31
• Subjects: apparent competition -- bottom‐up -- consumer–resource interaction -- foraging -- habitat preference -- nutrient cycling -- spatial cascade -- spatial heterogeneity -- top‐down; Ecology -- Periodicals; 577
• DOI: 10.1111/ele.13941
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1461-023X

Abstract

Abstract: Ecosystems are linked through spatial flows of organisms and nutrients that impact their biodiversity and regulation. Theory has predominantly studied passive nutrient flows that occur independently of organism movement. Mobile organisms, however, commonly drive nutrient flows across ecosystems through nutrient recycling. Using a meta‐ecosystem model where consumers move between ecosystems, we study how consumer recycling and traits related to feeding and sheltering preferences affect species diversity and trophic regulation. We show local effects of recycling can cascade across space, yielding spatially heterogeneous top‐down and bottom‐up effects. Consumer traits impact the direction and magnitude of these effects by enabling recycling to favour a single ecosystem. Recycling further modifies outcomes of competition between consumer species by creating a positive feedback on the production of one competitor. Our findings suggest spatial interactions between feeding and recycling activities of organisms are key to predicting biodiversity and ecosystem functioning across spatial scales. Abstract : Mobile organisms are increasingly observed to feed and recycle nutrients across different ecosystems. Using a meta‐ecosystem model, we show that how mobile organisms distribute recycled nutrients relative to their feeding activities can influence species diversity and ecosystem functioning. For example, animals that use one ecosystem mostly for feeding and another ecosystem for releasing wastes can promote species coexistence and alter what is controlling the production of primary producers like plants.