Spatial correlation reverses the compound effect of multiple stressors on rocky shore biofilm.

ABSTRACT: Understanding how multifactorial fluctuating environments affect species and communities remains one of the major challenges in ecology. The spatial configuration of the environment is known to generate complex patterns of correlation among multiple stressors. However, to what extent the spatial correlation between simultaneously fluctuating variables affects ecological assemblages in real-world conditions remains poorly understood. Here, we use field experiments and simulations to assess the influence of spatial correlation of two relevant climate variables - warming and sediment deposition following heavy precipitation - on the biomass and photosynthetic activity of rocky intertidal biofilm. First, we used a response-surface design experiment to establish the relation between biofilm, wa

SUBMITTER: Rindi L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9608791 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature