Changes in ecosystem resilience detected in automated measures of ecosystem metabolism during a whole-lake manipulation.

ABSTRACT: Environmental sensor networks are developing rapidly to assess changes in ecosystems and their services. Some ecosystem changes involve thresholds, and theory suggests that statistical indicators of changing resilience can be detected near thresholds. We examined the capacity of environmental sensors to assess resilience during an experimentally induced transition in a whole-lake manipulation. A trophic cascade was induced in a planktivore-dominated lake by slowly adding piscivorous bass, whereas a nearby bass-dominated lake remained unmanipulated and served as a reference ecosystem during the 4-y experiment. In both the manipulated and reference lakes, automated sensors were used to measure variables related to ecosystem metabolism (dissolved oxygen, pH, and chlorophyll-a concentration) a

SUBMITTER: Batt RD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3808621 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature