Water diversion and pollution interactively shape freshwater food webs through bottom-up mechanisms.

ABSTRACT: Water diversion and pollution are two pervasive stressors in river ecosystems that often co-occur. Individual effects of both stressors on basal resources available to stream communities have been described, with diversion reducing detritus standing stocks and pollution increasing biomass of primary producers. However, interactive effects of both stressors on the structure and trophic basis of food webs remain unknown. We hypothesized that the interaction between both stressors increases the contribution of the green pathway in stream food webs. Given the key role of the high-quality, but less abundant, primary producers, we also hypothesized an increase in food web complexity with larger trophic diversity in the presence of water diversion and pollution. To test these hypotheses, we selec

SUBMITTER: de Guzman I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7614049 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature