Community Ecotoxicology

Community Ecotoxicology......Page 3
Contents......Page 9
Series Preface......Page 17
Acknowledgements......Page 19
1.1.1 Community ecology......Page 21
1.1.2 Community ecotoxicology......Page 22
1.2 Historical perspective of community ecology and ecotoxicology......Page 23
1.2.1 Holism and reductionism in community ecology and ecotoxicology......Page 24
1.2.2 Trophic interactions in community ecology and ecotoxicology......Page 27
1.3 Are communities more than the sum of individual populations?......Page 28
1.3.1 The need to understand indirect effects of contaminants......Page 29
1.4 Communities within the hierarchy of biological organization......Page 33
1.5.1 The need for an improved understanding of basic community ecology......Page 35
1.5.2 Development and application of improved biomonitoring techniques......Page 36
1.5.3 Application of contemporary food web theory to ecotoxicology......Page 37
1.5.5 Influence of global atmospheric stressors on community responses to contaminants......Page 38
References......Page 39
2.1 Characterizing community structure and organization......Page 43
2.1.1 Colonization and community structure......Page 44
2.1.2 Definitions of species diversity......Page 46
2.2 Changes in species diversity and composition along environmental gradients......Page 47
2.2.1 Global patterns of species diversity......Page 49
2.2.2 Species–area relationships......Page 52
2.2.3 Assumptions about equilibrium communities......Page 55
2.3 The role of keystone species in community regulation......Page 56
2.3.1 Identifying keystone species......Page 57
2.4 The role of species interactions in community ecology and ecotoxicology......Page 60
2.4.1 Definitions......Page 61
2.4.2 Experimental designs for studying species interactions......Page 62
2.4.3 The influence of contaminants on predator–prey interactions......Page 63
2.4.4 The influence of contaminants on competitive interactions......Page 69
2.5 Environmental factors and species interactions......Page 72
2.5.1 Environmental stress gradients......Page 73
References......Page 76
3.1 Biomonitoring and biological integrity......Page 81
3.2 Conventional approaches......Page 82
3.2.1 Indicator species concept......Page 83
3.3.1 Species abundance models......Page 84
3.3.2.1 Species richness......Page 89
3.3.2.2 Species diversity......Page 92
3.3.2.3 Species evenness......Page 93
3.3.2.4 Limitations of species richness and diversity measures......Page 94
3.3.3 Biotic indices......Page 96
3.4 Development and application of rapid bioassessment protocols......Page 100
3.4.1 Application of qualitative sampling techniques......Page 102
3.4.3 Pooling samples......Page 104
3.4.4 Relaxed taxonomic resolution......Page 105
3.5 Regional reference conditions......Page 109
3.6 Integrated assessments of biological integrity......Page 110
3.7 Limitations of biomonitoring......Page 111
References......Page 114
4.1 Experimental approaches in basic community ecology......Page 119
4.1.1 The transition from descriptive to experimental ecology......Page 120
4.1.3 Manipulative studies in more complex communities......Page 123
4.1.4 Types of experiments in basic community ecology......Page 124
4.2 Experimental approaches in community ecotoxicology......Page 126
4.3.1 Background and definitions......Page 127
4.3.2.1 Source of organisms......Page 130
4.3.2.2 Spatiotemporal scale......Page 132
4.3.3 Statistical analyses of microcosm and mesocosm experiments......Page 134
4.3.4 General applications of microcosms and mesocosms......Page 135
4.3.4.1 The use of mesocosms for pesticide registration......Page 136
4.3.4.2 Development of concentration–response relationships......Page 137
4.3.4.3 Investigation of stressor interactions......Page 138
4.3.4.4 Influence of environmental and ecological factors on community responses......Page 139
4.3.4.6 Applications in terrestrial systems......Page 140
4.3.5 Summary......Page 142
4.4 Whole ecosystem manipulations......Page 143
4.4.1.1 Experimental Lakes Area (ELA)......Page 144
4.4.1.2 Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory......Page 145
4.4.1.3 Summary......Page 146
4.4.2 Examples of ecosystem manipulations: avian and mammalian communities......Page 147
4.4.3 Limitations of whole ecosystem experiments......Page 149
4.5.1 Questions of spatiotemporal scale......Page 152
4.6 Conclusions......Page 153
References......Page 155
5.1 Introduction......Page 161
5.1.1 Comparison of multimetric and multivariate approaches......Page 162
5.2 Multimetric indices......Page 163
5.2.1 Multimetric approaches for terrestrial communities......Page 166
5.2.2 Limitations of multimetric approaches......Page 167
5.3 Multivariate approaches......Page 168
5.3.1 Similarity indices......Page 169
5.3.2 Ordination......Page 171
5.3.3 Discriminant and cluster analysis......Page 177
5.3.4 Application of multivariate methods to laboratory data......Page 180
References......Page 184
6.1 The importance of disturbance in structuring communities......Page 187
6.1.2 Disturbance and equilibrium communities......Page 188
6.1.3 Resistance and resilience stability......Page 189
6.1.4 Pulse and press disturbances......Page 190
6.2 Community stability and species diversity......Page 192
6.3 Species diversity and ecosystem function......Page 196
6.4 Relationship between natural and anthropogenic disturbance......Page 199
6.4.1 The ecosystem distress syndrome......Page 200
6.4.2 The intermediate disturbance hypothesis......Page 201
6.4.3 Subsidy–stress gradients......Page 204
6.5 Contemporary hypotheses to explain community responses to anthropogenic disturbance......Page 205
6.5.1 Pollution-induced community tolerance......Page 206
6.6 Biotic and abiotic factors that influence community recovery......Page 209
6.6.1 Cross community comparisons of recovery......Page 212
6.6.2 Importance of long-term studies for documenting recovery......Page 213
6.6.3 Community-level indicators of recovery......Page 215
6.6.4 Community characteristics that influence rate of recovery......Page 219
6.7 Influence of environmental variability on resistance and resilience......Page 222
6.8 Quantifying the effects of multiple perturbations......Page 224
6.8.1 Sensitivity of communities to novel stressors......Page 225
6.9 Summary and conclusions......Page 227
References......Page 228
7.1 Introduction......Page 233
7.2 CO(2) and climate change......Page 235
7.2.1 Facts and evidence......Page 236
7.2.2 Carbon cycles and sinks......Page 238
7.2.3 The mismatch between climate models and ecological studies......Page 241
7.2.4 Paleoecological studies of CO(2) and climate change......Page 242
7.2.5 Effects of climate change on terrestrial vegetation......Page 244
7.2.6 Ecological responses to CO(2) enrichment......Page 246
7.2.7 Effects of climate change on terrestrial animal communities......Page 248
7.2.8 Effects of climate change on freshwater communities......Page 250
7.2.9 Effects of climate change on marine communities......Page 254
7.2.10 Conclusions......Page 256
7.3 Stratospheric ozone depletion......Page 258
7.3.2 The effects of ultraviolet radiation on marine and freshwater plankton......Page 260
7.3.2.1 Direct and indirect effects of UV-B radiation......Page 261
7.3.3 Responses of benthic communities......Page 263
7.3.5.1 Dissolved organic materials......Page 265
7.3.5.2 Location......Page 267
7.3.5.3 Interspecific and intraspecific differences in UV-B tolerance......Page 268
7.3.5.4 Interactions with other stressors......Page 270
7.4.1 Descriptive studies of acid deposition effects in aquatic communities......Page 271
7.4.2 Episodic acidification......Page 274
7.4.3 Experimental studies of acid deposition effects in aquatic communities......Page 275
7.4.4 Recovery of aquatic ecosystems from acidification......Page 277
7.4.5 Effects of acid deposition on forest communities......Page 278
7.4.6 Indirect effects of acidification on terrestrial wildlife......Page 280
7.5 Interactions among global atmospheric stressors......Page 281
References......Page 284
8.1 Introduction......Page 293
8.2.1 Historical perspective of food web ecology......Page 294
8.2.2 Descriptive, interactive, and energetic food webs......Page 296
8.2.3 Contemporary questions in food web ecology......Page 297
8.2.4 Trophic cascades......Page 302
8.2.5 Limitations of food web studies......Page 304
8.2.6 Use of radioactive and stable isotopes to characterize food webs......Page 306
8.3 Applications of food web ecology to community ecotoxicology......Page 308
8.3.2 Lipids influence the patterns of contaminant distribution among trophic levels......Page 309
8.3.3 Relative importance of diet and water in aquatic systems......Page 310
8.3.4 Energy flow and contaminant transport......Page 312
8.3.5.1 Models for discrete trophic levels......Page 313
8.3.5.2 Models incorporating omnivory......Page 314
8.3.6 Feeding habits, habitat associations, and prey tolerances......Page 316
8.3.7 Transport from aquatic to terrestrial communities......Page 317
8.3.8 Food chain transfer of contaminants from sediments......Page 318
8.3.9.1 Food chain length and complexity......Page 320
8.3.9.2 Primary productivity......Page 322
8.3.9.3 Landscape features......Page 324
8.3.10 Application of stable isotopes to study contaminant fate and effects......Page 326
8.4 Effects of contaminants on food chains and food web structure......Page 329
8.4.2 Indirect effects of contaminant exposure on feeding habits......Page 330
8.4.3 Alterations in energy flow and trophic structure......Page 331
8.4.4 The development and application of bioenergetic food webs in ecotoxicology......Page 334
References......Page 335
9.2.1 Improvements in experimental techniques......Page 343
9.2.2 Use of multimetric and multivariate approaches to assess community-level responses......Page 344
9.2.3 Disturbance ecology and community ecotoxicology......Page 345
9.2.4 An improved understanding of trophic interactions......Page 346
9.2.5 Interactions between contaminants and global atmospheric stressors......Page 347
9.3 Concluding remarks......Page 348
References......Page 349
Index......Page 351